CHASE AND THE ELECTION OF 1860
BY DONNAL V. SMITH
(Continued from July QUARTERLY)
CHAPTER IV
THE CHASE BOOM
On New Year's Day, 1864, the New York World
lamented that the dawn of the last year
of the "most
mournfully memorable" presidential
term in the annals
of the Nation should still find the
country "rent asun-
der by civil convulsions." It gave
no hint of support
for the President and his Cabinet; they
would have to
be enlightened by the unmistakable
voice of the people
before any progress could be expected,
was the opinion
of the editor. Half a million people
read this condem-
nation. The World was tired of
war,1 and the Tribune
and Herald were no less
dissatisfied;2 when not openly
criticizing the Chief Executive, they
were at least un-
friendly. The Baltimore American found
much at the
White House that it did not like, but
much to praise in
the Treasury Department. The Chicago Times
be-
wailed the misfortune of a President
who was a mere
clerk;3 while in southern
Illinois, the Cairo Democrat
found Lincoln always late; far too slow
for the people.4
The Cincinnati Commercial announced
the beginning
1 Issues for January 1, 4, 6 7, 18, and
25, 1864.
2 January 15, 23, 29.
3 December 11, 1863.
4 January 3, 1864.
Vol. XXXIX--49. (769)
770 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
of the game of president-making by
reports and re-
prints of significant political
meetings in New York
City.5 In Massachusetts, the
Springfield Republican ad-
monished the Lincolnites not to be too
hasty in bring-
ing forward their candidate, saying
that during the
military campaigns of the coming summer
the Presi-
dent would be tested; time enough then
to choose a can-
didate.6 The Cincinnati Gazette
urged a "new deal all
around" and would make Oliver P.
Morton Lincoln's
successor.7 Almost every day
Samuel Medary prayed
for a change; anything at all to end
the Republican rule
of "Lincoln and Company" and
so end the war.8 Gree-
ley, who plotted and planned with the
Radicals, wrote
that the time had arrived to end
indecisive action at
Washington.9 Phillips, who
for a time had appeared
to accept Lincoln, was displeased with
the annual mes-
sage and raised his voice anew against
the President
and his Louisiana Plan.10
The center, the rallying-point of all
the disaffected,
according to Whitelaw Reid, was Salmoa
P. Chase.11
It was clear that Chase was prepared to
become a can-
didate. Judge Spalding suggested that
he name a rep-
resentative to travel about Ohio and
another for Iowa
to attend to the political affairs in
those states. These
men, he urged, should be made special
agents of the
5 February 16.
6 February 11, 12, 1864.
7 January 20.
8 Crisis,
January 27, February 3, 10.
9 Greeley MSS., James White to Greeley,
January 15; Augustus Wat-
tles to Greeley, February 6. [N. Y. Pub.
Lib.]
10 Sears, op. cit., 250; Garrison's
Life by His Children, IV, pp. 94-97;
107-109.
11 Cortissoz, op. cit., I, 195.
Chase and the Election of 1860 771
Treasury Department so that they could
inquire into the
conduct of treasury officials with
better success and see
that they were "performing their
duty."12 When Forney
announced in the Washington Chronicle
that he would
support the President,13 Chase,
mournfully, but not too
seriously, told Henry Cooke that he
supposed that his
name had better be withdrawn from the
canvass, but
he was assured that such was not the
desire of the
Cooke family, upon whose loyal support
he could de-
pend until the very last.14 Thus
was Chase persuaded;
he could not forget that a number of
the "clearest-headed
and most judicious men" were
prepared to support him.
He admitted that while he did not
personally prefer to
have his name used, he could not bring
himself to refuse
it.15 Having asked Judge
Dickinson for the sentiment
of Ohio, he was surprised, and perhaps
disappointed, to
hear that many there preferred
continuing the Lincoln
administration. After a short time, Chase
replied, tell-
ing Dickinson that his opinion was
"most certainly er-
roneous" and that the
Administration could not be con-
tinued, for properly speaking, there
was no administra-
tion; it was merely coincidence of aim
and not unity of
action which kept "the Heads"
working together, as
the coming of peace would soon
prove;--if peace ever
came. Besides, Chase planned to leave
the Department
of the Treasury soon; then what would
happen to the
finances of the war-ridden Nation?16
On January 18, the Secretary wrote to
some of his
12 Chase MSS., Spalding to Chase,
January 6. [Pa. Hist. Soc.]
13 January 14, 1864.
14 Cooke MSS., Henry to Jay Cooke,
January 14. [Pa. Hist. Soc.]
15 Chase MSS., Chase to Dickinson,
January 16. [Pa. Hist. Soc.]
16 Chase MSS., Chase to Dickinson,
January 27; Chase to Odlin, Jan-
uary 18. [Pa. Hist. Soc.]
772 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Ohio friends telling them of a huge,
voluntary organi-
zation made to promote his candidacy in
the coming
campaign. He then stated that should
the support of
Ohio be withheld for any reason he
would resign him-
self to the life of a private citizen.17
One of these let-
ters appeared in the press but it did
not add much to
knowledge already quite common, so it
caused little
comment.
So far Chase had not succeeded in
creating an or-
ganization that operated in a
systematic way. Most of
his time and attention was devoted to
personal cor-
respondence, which had grown
prodigiously. Fre-
quently he received proposals to make
more or less radi-
cal changes in the personnel of his
department in order
to assist his candidacy. It is in his
favor that he turned
a deaf ear to most of such appeals,
replying that he
considered his work in the Treasury his
best recom-
mendation.18 When a friend
in Ohio reported on the
irregular efforts of some of the
Lincoln men there, his
only response was a threat to resign.19
Perhaps Chase
had no fears for the attitude of Ohio;
certainly he dis-
played none when he wrote to his
friend, Flamen Ball:
"I cannot help being gratified by
the preference ex-
pressed for me in some quarters; for
those who express
it are generally men of great weight
and high character
and independent judgment."20 This
sentiment he op-
timistically believed to be shared by
the masses, but
again he said that should Ohio indicate
her preference
17 Chase MSS., Chase to Odlin; Chase to
James C. Hall, January 18,
1864.
18 Chase MSS., Chase to Gilbert, January
30. [Pa. Hist. Soc.]
19 Chase MSS., Chase to Lindsay,
February 1. [Pa. Hist. Soc.]
20 Chase MSS., February 2. [Pa. Hist.
Soc.]
Chase and the Election of 1860 773
for someone else he would not wish to
make the race.21
Does this oft-repeated assertion show
his supreme con-
fidence that Ohio would support him or
did he intend it
as a threat to spur his supporters to
more strenuous ef-
forts? It occurs so frequently and so
unnecessarily that
it must have been made designedly.
Believing that his political prospects
were constantly
improving, Chase made his increased
criticisms of the
Administration and the conduct of the
war more pointed
than ever before. His constant refrain
was that there
was no real administration in the true
sense of the
word; it was recklessly, negligently
extravagant; the
jealousy of certain members in it
prompted them to do
all they could to defeat the plans of
the Treasury De-
partment, and even to make personal
attacks.22 All
this was charged to the ineptitude of
the President. On
the other hand, with the management of
the Treasury,
Chase expressed his complete
satisfaction: "So far I
think I have made few mistakes. Indeed,
on looking
back over the whole ground, . . . I am
not able to see
where, if I had to do my work all over
again, I should
in any manner do materially otherwise
than I have,"
he wrote.23
Warned repeatedly of the fact that the
Weed fac-
tion was doing as it pleased with the
patronage of the
Custom-House in New York City, Chase
turned his
attention to that problem.24 He
realized that the posi-
21 Chase MSS., Chase to Ball, February
20. [Pa. Hist. Soc.]
22 Chase MSS., Letters to Leavitt,
January 24; to Bingham, January
26; to McVeagh and to Kinkaid, January
27; to Mansfield, January 28; to
Greeley, April 2, 1864. [Pa. Hist. Soc.]
23 Chase MSS., Chase
to J. W. Hartwell, February 2. [Pa. Hist. Soc.]
24 Chase MSS., Stevens to Chase, January
7; Bailey to Chase, January
13.
774 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
tion was too important and its
significance too well
known to the general public to permit
any radical
changes in the personnel at that late
day, so he en-
deavored to do the next best thing,
which was to make
the most of Hiram Barney. He sought by
kind and
flattering words, interspersed with
assurances of friend-
ship, to overcome the influence of
young Palmer who
acted for Weed. He tried to win his
confidence and
support by assuring him that so far as
Washington was
concerned he would not be molested in
his position and
could safely support the man who
appealed to him as the
best candidate.25
When Godwin, Bryant's editor of the New
York
Evening Post, desired a Treasury position for a friend,
Chase took occasion to recall that not
once had a kind
word been expressed in his behalf in
the Post since
Bryant's retirement; nevertheless he
would try to find
a position for the friend.26
Thomas Heaton, friend and appointee,
told Chase
that his cause could be improved by
finding a new
editor for the Cincinnati Gazette, but
he replied to this
that he would not, under any condition,
enter into a
bargain with the managers of a paper,
for it was de-
cidedly bad policy for a politician to
appear desirous
of controlling public opinion. When
Heaton expressed
surprise at the reluctance of the
Secretary to take ad-
vantage of an opportunity which others
often employed,
Chase said that he spoke only for
himself: "It is not
for me to say what others should do . .
. ."27
25 Chase MSS., Chase to Barney, January
19, 1864. [Pa. Hist. Soc.]
26 Chase MSS., Chase to Bailey, February
6. [Pa. Hist. Soc.]
27 Chase MSS., Heaton to Chase, January
14, 1864; Chase to Heaton,
January 28, February 8. [Pa. Hist. Soc.]
Chase and the Election of 1860 775
With a view to aiding the formation of
a more per-
fect organization, Jacob R. Freese
proposed that he be
made Collector of Revenue in New
Jersey, after the
removal of the incumbent, whom he
described as a
"warm Lincoln supporter."
Freese explained that as
collector he could make certain that
all Treasury officials
would support Chase at the proper time.
Moreover, the
office would furnish an excuse for
visiting all parts of
the state to encourage more effective
work in behalf of
the Chase-for-president movement.28 To the credit of
Chase, it can be said that he never
gave Freese a civil
appointment; but perhaps he knew that
although Freese
professed loyalty, the paper which he
edited was never
in support of his candidacy.29
A Chase organization had been made in
Boston un-
der the tutelage of James W. Stone
which included "the
more active spirits of Massachusetts
and neighboring
states." Governor Andrew, having
admitted that he
was wrong in supporting Lincoln in
1860, expressed his
willingness to enter the new movement.30
Likewise,
Chase's friends among the members of
Congress were
doing what they could to stimulate
interest in his cam-
paign.31 In New Orleans,
George Dennison, another
close friend of the Secretary to enjoy
a Treasury ap-
pointment, sponsored a Chase club and
kept his bene-
factor fully informed as to what was
transpiring in the
28 Chase MSS., Freese to Chase, January 23.
29 Freese edited the State Gazette
and Republican of Trenton. After
the publication of the Hall Letter on
March 10, the paper supported Lin-
coln.
30 Chase MSS., Stone to Chase, January
15.
31 Chase MSS., G. P. Williamson to John
Sherman, January 25. (An
enclosure of Sherman to Chase). [Pa.
Hist. Soc.]
776 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Lower Valley.32 West
Virginia also boasted a Chase
club that openly and unequivocally
indorsed his poli-
cies.33
The political situation was becoming
more acute.
Every street corner in Washington,
every hotel lobby
and sometimes even the White House was
the scene of
informal caucuses. Senators,
Representatives, lobby-
ists and others, talked in whispers,
until none knew
whom to believe. As George Luther
Stearns wrote to
his wife, "There is no safe place
but outside, with noth-
ing to ask and nothing to give.34 Some
condemned the
Secretary for his ambitious aspirations
while serving
as a member of the Cabinet, but Butler
was not among
that number. He said that Lincoln had a
perfect right
to seek reelection, but that Chase was
likewise privileged
to seek the nomination and that if the
methods employed
by the Secretary did not suit the
President, a resigna-
tion should be demanded; otherwise Mr.
Lincoln should
quietly accept the situation.35
Trumbull, unwilling to place all of his
eggs in one
basket, wrote that what appeared to be
a general de-
mand for Lincoln had proved to be only
a superficial
demonstration and that in Washington it
was feared
that the indecision and inefficiency of
the President
would only prolong the war another four
years should
he be realected.36 So loudly
did he speak that Governor
Yates, although himself undecided as to
the expediency
32 Chase
MSS., Dennison to Chase, March 5, 1864.
33 National Intelligencer, February 26.
34 Stearns, op. cit., 326.
35 Butler's Book, 631, 635. Butler had already been invited by a repre-
sentative of Chase to become the vice
presidential candidate, but had de-
clined. Ibid, 632.
36 Trumbull MSS., Trumbull to McPike,
February 6.
Chase and the Election of 1860 777
of reflecting Lincoln, but in closer
touch with the party
machine in Illinois, advised him to be
more discreet.37
But Trumbull was now included among the
"distin-
guished guests" entertained by the
delightful Kate
Sprague at the home of the Minister of
Finance,38 a
far cry from the influence of the White
House or the
capitol of Illinois.
Henry J. Raymond, Chairman of the
National Re-
publican Committee, sought to force all
office-holders
to support the Administration. He would assess every
one of them and should they refuse to
pay their assess-
ment it was his advice to the President
that they be at
once removed from their office. In his
paper, the New
York Times, he printed long
editorials supporting the
Administration; setting forth on
several occasions
reasons why it should be continued.
But of those who raised their voices in
behalf of
Lincoln none was better received than
James Russell
Lowell, the leader of the literary
minds of the entire
nation. In January, he wrote an article
for the North
Amierican Review, entitled "The President's Policy,"
in which he graphically portrayed the
successes and
achievements of the past three years
and showed their
promise of victory. This victory was
due to the far-
sighted wisdom of the President, the
only statesman
who possessed sufficient ability to
conclude a peace that
would not be a shame and degradation to
the country.
Therefore, continued Mr. Lowell, the
President should
have nothing to fear from the voters in
November.39
Lincoln read the article very
carefully, then again, and
37 Trumbull MSS., Yates to Trumbull,
February 26, 1864.
38 Trumbull MSS., Chase to Trumbull,
February 6.
39 North American Review, XCVIII. (January, 1864), pp. 238-265.
778 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
pronounced it good.40 It was
the loudest gun yet dis-
charged for the Administration and
caused many
echoes. Stanton heard that the Union
men everywhere
were rising for Lincoln and would
accept no one else.41
The Manchester Mirror and American held
that the
quickest way to drive the rebels out of
the country
would be to assure them that Lincoln
would be reelected.
They would then leave while there was
time.42 Gideon
Welles heard that the Northwest was
coming into line
and would be so vociferous in its
clamor for Lincoln
that no convention would be necessary
to nominate
him.43 The Chicago Journal,
not always accurate, an-
nounced that Lincoln was so manifestly
the choice of
the people that Chase had abandoned his
intention of
trying to secure the nomination.44
Former Governor
Tod, of Ohio, predicted that Chase's
selfishness would
be his undoing.45
Thus the President, who heard of the
activity of the
radicals with discomfiting regularity,
also received an
occasional item that tended to show his
own political
chances to be improving. He recognized
that the posi-
tion of the radicals was a delicate
one; they desired to
present the name of Chase but feared
that Lincoln was
yet too popular to warrant a mutiny on
board the Ship
of State. On the other hand, they could
not delay much
longer because the state conventions
were preparing to
40 Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln,
II, 470.
41 Stanton MSS., Andrew Johnson to
Horace Maynard (copy), January
14.
42 January 18.
43 Welles MSS., J. J. Pease to Welles,
February 11.
44 February 13.
45 Nicolay and Hay, Lincoln, VIII,
324.
Chase and the Election of 1860 779
instruct their candidates for the
National Convention.46
Furthermore, none knew better than the
President the
greater power those in office are able
to wield over the
party organization in the states.
New Hampshire, preparing for the state
election to
be held in March, nominated Governor
Gilmore for
reelection. At the same time a
resolution recommend-
ing Lincoln's reelection was passed
amid the wildest
enthusiasm. It was also proposed to
Secretary Chase
that he "establish and enforce a
rigid system of ac-
countability and promptly to detect,
expose and punish
all corruption and fraud upon the
government."47 In-
as much as the resolution preceded, by
a few days, the
disclosure of some treasury frauds, the
New York
World charged that the resolution which New Hamp-
shire passed originated in Washington
with those who
knew of the treasury investigation soon
to follow; just
a part of another political plot.48
The Lincoln men of Pennsylvania, not to
be outdone
by New Hampshire, circulated a paper
among the Union
members of the Legislature which asked
that Lincoln be
chosen President for another four
years. Cameron, in
telling Lincoln of it, said, "I
have kept my promise."49
As was expected, there were many who
presumed that
the resolutions of New Hampshire and
Pennsylvania
46 Bates diary, February 13, 1864.
47 National Intelligencer, January 8; Manchester Mirror and Republi-
can, January 16.
48 January 13. The World also
stated that the indorsement of Lincoln
was merely the action of the Republican
political machine and not the sen-
timent of the people.
49 Printed diary of John Hay, January 9, 1864. Cameron concluded by
saying, "Providence has decreed
your reelection and no combination of
the wicked can prevent it."
780 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications
were occasioned by the great popularity
of the President
there.
It was hoped that other states would
follow the lead
of these two and indorse Lincoln.
Connecticut politi-
cians, however, were reluctant to do
so, fearing that
such action on their part would injure
the prospects of
the state ticket and perhaps defeat the
reflection of Gov-
ernor Buckingham. The federal
appointments in Con-
necticut had been unfortunate ones and
had occasioned
considerable opposition to the
Administration. One of
Secretary Welles' correspondents
wrote:50
I have never seen such an exhibition of
office holders in any
convention before. . . I do not know of any office holders
except Bolles and Rockwell who were not
present and very active.
All arrangements for officering the
meeting and appointing of
delegates had been made by them and they
were generally carried
throughout.
By a special division of the state they
were able to con-
trol the election of delegates, but the
Convention was
disgusted and inclined to look upon the
management as
coming from the White House and
selfishly inconsider-
ate of the welfare of Buckingham and
the state ticket.51
While New York was still quarreling
over the spoils
of the custom-house, Weed and Wakeman,
the post mas-
ter of the city, engineered a Lincoln
indorsement through
the Central Committee of that state.
But not all of the
members were there and among the absent
ones were
the friends of Chase. They protested
after the indorse-
50 Welles MSS., Mark Howard to Welles, January 19.
51 Welles MSS., Calvin Day to Welles,
February 18. Others giving
him a similar account are James G.
Bolles on February 18; and Blain Day,
January 27.
Chase and the Election of 1860 781
ment had been made, but it was too
late; the circulars
were already in the mails.52
The Maryland Convention, thanks to the
efforts of
Henry Winter Davis, refused to draw up
a formal reso-
lution in support of anyone for the
presidency. There-
upon some of the Lincoln men drew apart
and wrote An
Address to the American People which was published far
and wide. In many places this was
looked upon as the
official view of the Convention and because
of the pro-
nounced opposition of Davis to the
President such a
document was considered all the more
singular.53
In Ohio, the Chase men were especially
anxious to
prevent a resolution in favor of the
President from pass-
ing the Legislature. On January 8, they
had defeated
one introduced in the House,54 and
the resolution pre-
sented on January 27, died in
committee.55 The sup-
porters of Secretary Chase realized
that the Lincoln men
were still working,56 but
for the moment it appeared that
they could do nothing.57 On the evening
of February 5,
a legislative caucus was held by the
members of the
Union party. Judge Day had another
Lincoln resolu-
tion to present but seeing that the
Chase men had a
comfortable majority, he withheld it.58
It was another
52 Chase MSS., Fitch to Chase, February
5; N. Y. Herald, February 6,
17, 1864.
53 Cincinnati Commercial, February
19. Philadelphia Inquirer, February
23.
54 Ohio House Journal, LX, (1864), p. 22. Chase MSS., Ball to Chase,
January 25.
55 Ohio House Journal, op. cit., 95. Just a few days previous Chase's
Hall Letter appeared. Was the threat
working?
56 Chase MSS., Lindsley to Chase,
January 27; W. H. P. Denny to
Chase, January 29.
57 Chase
MSS., Parsons to Chase, February 4.
58 Chase MSS., A. P. Stone to Chase,
February 4, 5, 1864.
782 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
victory for Chase and he was told that
a few weeks more
would see the danger safely past.59
The Chase men also
succeeded in forestalling open action
favorable to Lin-
coln in a convention of War Democrats
held at Colum-
bus on January 8.60 All things
considered, it appeared
reasonable to suppose that Ohio would
do nothing to aid
the pre-Convention movement for
Lincoln.
In Indiana, the Lincoln men could not
hope for an
indorsement from the legislature,
therefore they bent
their efforts toward the coming
convention of the Union
party. Governor Morton, however, had
repeatedly ex-
pressed his belief that to bring
national politics into the
state convention would jeopardize the
local ticket. This,
the Chase men considered to be in their
favor, and they
did all they could in the various
district conventions to
urge that the delegates be instructed
not to consider
national politics at all.61
Without Ohio and Indiana,
could the President hope to secure the
support of the
Northwest? The Chase men thought not.
In January, a letter signed by
twenty-five notable
persons of New York was addressed to
"The Loyal Citi-
zens of the United States." It was
an appeal for all
persons to meet in appropriate places
on February 22,
to indorse Lincoln and the war, thereby
indicating that
"political animosity, human
passions and subtle treason"
were to be put aside in order to
reunite the country. This
letter was widely published in the
press, much to the dis-
59 Chase MSS., Lindsley to Chase,
February 9; Lewis B. Gunckel to
Chase, February 12.
60 Cincinnati Commercial, Ohio State
Journal (Columbus), Cincinnati
Express, January 9.
61 Chase MSS., B. F. Tuttle to Chase,
February 5. Indianapolis Ga-
sette, February 9.
Chase and the Election of 1860 783
comfiture of the Chase men. They,
however, were not
idle. On February 1, a Chase
organization was created
in New York under the title of
"The Unconditional
Union Central Committee." Their
program embraced
a more radical policy than that of
Lincoln and sustained
the one-term principle in relation to
the presidency.62
The executive duties of this
organization were in charge
of a Committee of Five, the most active
member of
which was E. C. Stedman who served as
Corresponding
Secretary. He was in constant touch
with James M.
Winchell who was working diligently in
behalf of Chase.
Winchell relayed all information of
value to Chase who
would then indicate the line of
activity to be followed.63
The operations of this organization
were intended to be
more or less secret. Stedman, however,
was a personal
friend of Edward Bates and he told
Bates enough of the
plans of the organization to reveal its
general purpose.64
Bates had no love for Chase and was a
good friend of
Montgomery Blair. No doubt the
President learned
much of what was going on in New York
from these
men.
Another member of the Committee of Five
was
Judge James W. White. He endeavored to
get Greeley
to bring the Tribune to the
support of Chase. Greeley
was reluctant to do so, saying that
should he make his
paper more partisan than it already
was, he and his part-
ners would sustain a financial loss
they could ill afford
to bear. Judge White took this to mean
that if the
62 N. Y. Herald, February 8, 1864.
63 Chase MSS., A letter of E. C. Stedman
to James M. Winchell dated
February 13. [Pa. Hist. Soc.]
64 Bates' diary, February 20. Gideon
Welles also surmised what was
going on but had no definite knowledge, Diary,
1, 525.
784
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
proper financial guaranty was made the Tribune
would
become the organ of the committee. He
thereupon con-
ferred with the finance committee and
procured sufficient
aid to assure the owners against loss.
But Greeley was
still reluctant, and refused to accept
Judge White's prop-
osition.65
During this time, Chase was encouraging
his friends
everywhere, especially in Ohio. He
believed that all
was going well and so wrote to Colonel
Parsons.66 To
generals in the field, whom he felt he
could count upon
for support, he wrote requesting the
sentiments of the
army, saying that without the support
and confidence of
the brave commanders he could not
permit his name to
be used.67
In a Congressional caucus, Charles
Sumner and
Henry Winter Davis sought to have a
committee chosen
for the purpose of expressing
Congressional opinion on
the canvass. Doubtless they hoped to
control this com-
mittee and so eliminate any opposition
which would cer-
tainly arise if the subject of the
presidency was to be
handled in open sessions.68
Garfield was active in this
also, expressing the hope that Congress
would not be
compelled to push Lincoln another four
years.69
The New York Independent, said
to be Henry Ward
Beecher's organ, entered into the
spirit of the campaign
on February 18. While it did not openly
indorse Chase,
it asserted that Lincoln was positively
out of the ques-
65 Greeley MSS., James W. White to
Greeley, February 13, 1864. [N.
Y. Pub. Lib.]
66 Chase MSS., Chase to Parsons, February 9. [Pa. Hist.
Soc.]
67 Chase MSS., A letter
to a General, February 17. [Pa. Hist. Soc.]
68 Cincinnati
Commercial, January 29, 1864.
69 Smith,
Garfield, I, 375.
Chase and the Election of 1860 785
tion for the presidency. In Indianapolis, J. H. Jordan,
after purchasing his partner's interest
in the Indian-
apolis Gazette, wrote that he
was now prepared to bring
the paper to the support of Secretary
Chase.
Meanwhile, the radicals in Congress and
a few
others formed an organization known as
the "Repub-
lican National Executive
Committee." Samuel C. Pom-
eroy was its chairman and James M.
Winchell its secre-
tary. John Sherman and Garfield, both
of Ohio, were
included.
In the fall of 1863, Pomeroy had been
reported a
Lincoln man but in the meantime he had
found reason
to change his support.70 In
1862, Congress had passed
a bill known as the Pacific Railroad
Act, which contem-
plated one main continental line from a
point in the Platte
Valley at the one hundredth meridian to
the Pacific.
Provision was also made for branches to
Omaha and
Kansas City to be included in the
continental franchise
and subsidies.71 This same
act provided also that such
local roads as were already in
operation and could be
utilized by the branches were to share
in the benefits
granted by the federal government. The
Hannibal and
St. Joseph Railroad, by taking over the
charter of the
Platte County Railroad, which extended
from St. Joseph
to Atchison, was in the Kansas branch
and was there-
fore certain to enjoy great benefits
from the Pacific Act.
In order to effect the changes and
rebuilding necessary
it was essential that the road receive
its federal aid as
soon as each forty-mile unit was
completed. Under the
70 Chase MSS., Homer G. Plantz to Chase,
November 13, 1863. Plantz
had been a private secretary to Chase.
James G. Blunt, on June 14, 1863,
also reported Pomeroy to be a Lincoln
man.
71 U. S. Statutes, XII, 489-498, July 1, 1862; 538, July 12.
Vol. XXXIX-50.
786 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
Congressional Act the Secretary of the
Treasury was
empowered to pay the federal grants
when the stipula-
tions of the act were complied with.
Samuel C. Pom-
eroy was financially interested in the
Hannibal and St.
Joseph road and was therefore concerned
in having
Secretary Chase exercise the discretion
given him by the
Act, in favor of that road. The Senator
requested the
Secretary's opinion concerning the legality
of the inclu-
sion of his line in the Pacific system,
and on November
17, Chase replied in writing giving an
interpretation of
the Pacific Act of 1862, that was
favorable to the Han-
nibal and St. Joseph road.72 This
was, of course, per-
fectly legitimate as the Act had
expressly stated that
such roads as were already built were
to be used when-
ever possible, but it meant a great
deal to a small road
such as was the Hannibal and St. Joseph
to have the
Secretary make his decision in its
favor. James M.
Winchell was a general agent for the
Pacific line in New
York, and now that the Hannibal and St.
Joseph branch
was to be included in the system, he
and Senator Pome-
roy were in more or less intimate
business contact.
Politically, Pomeroy, as has already been
stated, was
accounted a Lincoln man, and Winchell
who was an
ardent anti-slavery man, had been
undecided, but in-
clined to Chase because of his radical
views.73 Yet by
the spring of 1864, both of these
gentlemen were en-
gaged in a movement to make Secretary
Chase presi-
dent; Pomeroy, serving as chairman and
Winchell as
72 Chase MSS., Chase to Pomeroy,
November 17, 1863. [Pa. Hist.
Soc.]
73 Chase MSS., Plantz to Chase,
November 13, 1863.
Chase and the Election of 1860 787
secretary of the self-styled Republican
National Execu-
tive Committee.
On February 20, the Constitutional
Union, a small
Washington paper, published a circular
marked "strictly
private" which bore the signature
of Samuel C. Pom-
eroy.74 This circular was dated February 8, 1864, and
stated that so long as no effort was
made to forestall the
political action of the people75 it
had been well for friends
of the government to devote their
attention to putting
down the rebellion. But now that
"party machinery and
official influence" were being
exercised to perpetuate the
Administration, "friends of the
Union and of freedom"
would have to assert themselves. The
Circular then con-
tinued, saying that the election of Mr.
Lincoln was an
impossibility in the face of the
influences which were
opposed to him and that even if it were
possible, it was
undesirable, for if elected, his
tendency toward "com-
promise and temporary expediency"
would be stronger
the second term than it had been the
first. Moreover,
patronage had been so extended and
abused as to ren-
der the one-term principle essential to
the preservation
of Republican institutions. More of the
qualities needed
in a president were to be found in the
person of Salmon
P. Chase, than in any other man,
therefore the Com-
mittee presented his name to the people
as the candidate
for president, and urged that local
organizations be
formed at once with a view to securing
that end.
74 The circular can be found reprinted
in Schuckers, op. cit., 499; N. Y.
Herald, N. Y. Evening Post, National
Intelligencer, February 22, and else-
where.
75 This is no doubt a reference to the
letters signed by the "New York
Notables" which had suggested that
the people meet to indorse Lincoln on
February 22.
788
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
On Monday, February 22, the circular
was reprinted
in newspapers all over the country with
varied comment.
Bennett believed its arguments
regarding Lincoln were
unanswerable, but he was not willing to
accept Chase as
his successor.76 The New
York Post also received the
circular with favor and the National
Intelligencer con-
ceded the right of the committee to
support Chase; fur-
thermore, since it was the friends of
the President who
had opened the campaign, Chase need
feel no embar-
rassment merely because he was one of
Lincoln's Coun-
cil Board. The New York Tribune carried
an editorial
favorable to Lincoln on February 22,
and made no men-
tion of the circular. The next day,
however, and the
day after that, Greeley devoted
editorials to Chase, ar-
guing that the committee acted within
its rights, which
no one denied, and that Chase was in
total ignorance of
the activities of the Committee. The
record of the Sec-
retary of the Treasury was such that
the suggestion of
his name was entitled to respect and
generous considera-
tion. The Washington Republican stated
that it was
authorized to deny the genuineness of
the circular and
pronounced it a hoax. Raymond, however,
wanted the
circular attached to the reputation of
Chase, therefore
he corrected the Republican in a
long editorial in the
New York Times of February 23.
Raymond insinuated
that the act of the Executive Committee
was a mean
trick and should be repudiated by all
lovers of the Union.
This was too strong for Greeley who
agreed that the
circular was authentic in every respect
but that it was
not the result of trickery, nor in any
way reflecting ill
76 N. Y. Herald, February 22, 23,
1864.
Chase and the Election of 1860 789
on that eminent and worthy statesman,
Salmon P.
Chase.77
A small item in the New York Herald of
February
29, referred to the connection of the
Pacific Railroad
with the Pomeroy Circular:78
Mr. Whynneschelle [Winchell] is the
Secretary of the Com-
mittee and wrote the circular. He is a
banker in this city and
was deeply interested in another
Pacific Railroad than that in
which Mr. Pomeroy took an interest.
It appears to us that this circular may
after all be only a
political double entendre. . . .
It may mean the Presidency and
it may mean the Pacific Railroad. If
the Pacific Railroad wants
anything from Congress, Mr. Chase is
certainly the best man for
it to run as far as Congress goes. But
whatever the Circular
means it has started considerable
excitement in the Republican
party, and embarrasses admirably the schemes of those
over-
smart fellows who were going to re-elect old Abe
anyhow.
Among the envelopes sent out containing
the Cir-
cular were some containing a pamphlet
written by Miss
Anna Ellen Carroll which reflected
severely on the Ad-
ministration, including Salmon P.
Chase. The Senators
and Representatives who franked the
circulars also
franked the pamphlet unintentionally.
Hence a goodly
amount of confusion resulted among the
recipients of
the documents. Some, who read only the
Carroll pam-
phlet, could not understand the
movement at all, while
those who received the circular were
confused when in-
formed of the pamphlet. Some received
the impression
that Senator Carroll had written the
Circular and signed
Pomeroy's name, while others who read
the pamphlet
and then talked with one who received a
circular thought
77 N. Y. Tribune, February
24, 1864.
78 Gideon Welles in an
unpublished article on the Lincoln administra-
tion said that Pomeroy was looking out for his pecuniary
interest in sup-
porting Chase. Welles MSS.
790 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
that Pomeroy had also written the
pamphlet. As soon
as the committee learned of the
misunderstanding it at-
tempted a correction through the press;
but there can be
little doubt that the Carroll Pamphlet
did much to de-
stroy the effectiveness of the
circular.79
When the Pomeroy Circular became
public, Chase
wrote the President a letter explaining
that earlier in the
year some friends had called to express
their desire that
he would allow his name to be used in
the campaign. He
said that he reluctantly consented to
accept their judg-
ment and now he supposed the circular,
of which he
professed entire ignorance before
seeing it in the papers,
was the result. He placed his office in
the hands of the
President, perfectly ready, he said, to
relinquish his
post if he no longer had the
President's confidence.80
Lincoln had known of the activity of
the Executive
Committee before the appearance of the
circular and
there is no doubt that Chase was a
constant annoyance
to him.81 But for the
President now to indicate that a
resignation from Chase would be
acceptable would imply
that he feared the Secretary as an
opponent for the
nomination, and it would most certainly
be taken as an
indication that in order to make the
race the President
had identified himself with the more
conservative ele-
ment. It would place the whole question
in the open,
but quite probably it would split the
party supporting
79 Cincinnati Commercial, February
22, 23, 26; N. Y. Herald, February
24, 1864.
80 Chase MSS., Chase to Lincoln,
February 22, 1864. [Pa. Hist. Soc.]
It is quite probable that Chase did not
know of the circular but he knew of
the activity of the "Executive
Committee" in his behalf. But he did not
feel called upon to mention the fact to
the President until the circular was
made public.
81 Printed
diary of John Hay, October 16; Welles, Diary, I, 529.
Chase and the Election of 1860 791
the war. On the other hand the
retention of Chase
would place the Chase-for-president
movement in the
position of striking at an
administration of which Chase
was a part, and if the campaigns of the
summer should
succeed the movement would probably
collapse.82 Keenly
aware of the discussion the circular
had aroused in the
press, the President watched the
development of events
in different parts of the country for a
week before re-
plying to Chase's letter of February
22.
In the meantime, Senator Pomeroy
acknowledged
that he had sponsored the circular and
urged that its
appeal be carried out.83 Chase
wrote to his friends in-
forming them that the circular was issued
without his
knowledge but that he had consented,
very reluctantly
of course, to allow his name to be
used; therefore he
desired that his friends should support
him.84 Greeley
advised him to go to the President and
disclaim all
knowledge of the circular, but this he
had already done85
and he was now waiting for a reply, and
indeed patience
was proving a hard task.
While all the country talked of the
Pomeroy Circu-
lar, Indiana held her State Convention
on February 23.
Oliver P. Morton desired to be the
Union party candi-
date for governor, but some said that
inasmuch as the
82 The press indicated the expectation
of the country that Chase would
retire at any moment. [N. Y. World, February
23.] Many papers depre-
cated all movements with regard to
president-making as premature, saying
that much could happen during the summer
to decide events. [N. Y. Post,
February 23. [The N. Y. Herald, February
23, called the impasse another
War of Roses.
83 Philadelphia Inquirer, N. Y. Tribune,
N. Y. Times, February 26.
84 Chase MSS., Chase to Gerrit Smith,
March 2; Chase to W. P. Mel-
len, March 5, 1864. [Pa. Hist. Soc.]
85 Chase MSS., Chase to Greeley,
February 27, March 4. [Pa. Hist.
Soc.]
792 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
Indiana Constitution permitted no
governor to succeed
himself, Morton should not be given the
nomination.
Friends of the Governor pointed out
that he was not the
elected governor but was merely serving
out the term of
Governor Lane who had died after
serving only a short
time. Morton expected a severe contest
and for that
reason desired to keep the question of
the presidency
from arising in the Convention.86
On February 23, the Convention opened,
and although
county delegates had been chosen, many
others attended
in order to see that Morton was
properly nominated.
Only five of the eleven district
conventions had in-
structed their delegates with regard to
the presidency
and each one of them had ordered that
no indorsement
of a presidential candidate should be
made.87 The
Chairman of the Republican State
Central Committee
nominated George K. Steele as a
temporary president of
the Convention and J. B. Mallett,
temporary secretary.
These officials having been installed,
the next procedure
should have been the selection of a
permanent organiza-
tion, but the officers had scarcely
reached their places
when former Governor Cyrus M. Allen
stepped smartly
to the platform and introduced two
resolutions to be
considered as one. The first was an
indorsement of
President Lincoln and the war, and the
second renomi-
nated Governor Morton. A crowd of
several thousand
is always prepared to yell at any
political convention,
and as Allen finished his second
resolution pandemonium
burst forth. While Allen was still
reading, Alexander
86 Indiana Correspondence of National
Intelligencer, February 22, ap-
pearing February 25.
87 Chase
MSS., H. B. Carrington to Chase, February 27; Indianapolis
Daily Gazette, February 26; National Intelligencer, February
27, 1864.
Chase and the Election of 1860 793
Metzger made his way to the platform
and handed a
paper to the temporary president who
glanced at it and
held it in his hands. It was a counter
resolution drawn
by the Germans of Indiana to be
presented in case an
effort was made to instruct delegates
to the National
Convention.88 During the
confusion following Allen's
resolutions the temporary president
announced that the
Metzger resolution, though similar to
the one proposed
by Allen, was out of order and must await
the appoint-
ment of a Committee on Resolutions.
Then, as soon
as he could make himself heard he put
Allen's proposal
to the vote and the cheering started
again. So far as
is known no negative vote was taken,
but even though
a regular vote could have been recorded
it is doubtful
whether the resolutions as given could
have failed, for
the majority of the delegates had been
instructed to vote
for Morton and could not have voted
against the one in-
dorsing Lincoln without violating their
instructions.
The Chase men were so surprised that
they did nothing,
permitting the Convention not yet
regularly organized,
to bind the state to Lincoln.89
The members of the Indiana Convention
had
scarcely reached their homes when news
from Ohio an-
nounced that a Legislative caucus there
had indorsed
the President without even mentioning
Chase. The
newspaper accounts of the proceeding
were very mea-
ger, the reporters having been
requested not to publish
88 Foulke, op. cit., I, 293.
Foulke says that the Germans had been in-
structed to draft the resolutions by a
Treasury official.
89 The
authorities for this account are the Indianapolis Daily Gazette
and the Indianapolis Journal, Februry
24 to 27, 1864; Chase MSS., B. F.
Tuttle to Chase, February 27; Carrington
to Chase, February 27; Na-
tional Intelligencer, February 26, 27; Cincinnati Commercial, February
24.
794 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
their notes. Practically all the papers merely stated
that in a caucus of Union members of
the Legislature a
resolution indorsing Lincoln for the
next presidency had
been adopted. It was a bitter blow to
the hopes of Chase.
James C. Hall rendered him a detailed
account of the
whole affair on March 2. He said that
no general an-
nouncement or invitation to the caucus
had been made.
Hall and a few other of Chase's friends
heard of the
meeting just as it was about to open
and hurried to the
Chamber to see what was going on. Of
the 109 mem-
bers of the Legislature accounted Union
men only sixty-
five were present. The meeting was in
charge of Hubbel
and Delano, both of whom were opposed
to Chase. John
M. Connell, Senator from Fairfield
County, proposed the
resolution and at once five of the
Chase men opposed.
They all spoke in favor of delay but
seeing the hopeless-
ness of forestalling a resolution they
proposed that a
committee be appointed to draft one to
be adopted at a
later date. Failing in this, most of
the friends of the
Secretary of the Treasury left the
meeting. After they
had gone there was not a majority of
the Union mem-
bers of the Legislature left, but a resolution
was enacted
and adopted just the same. It was then
handed to the
press for publication.90
For a week the President had been
withholding his
reply to Chase's letter of February 22,
but now the
action of Ohio and Indiana had greatly
altered the situ-
90 Although the newspaper men were
requested not to publish their
notes on the caucus, the correspondent
of the Cincinnati Commercial wrote
his editor a fairly accurate account of
the whole affair. This account ap-
peared on February 27, 1864. Other and
more detailed reports were made
to Chase, e. g., Hall to Chase and
Parsons to Chase, both dated March 2.
[Chase MSS.]
Chase and the Election of 1860 795
ation and no doubt simplified the
problem of drafting an
answer that would satisfy all
conditions. This letter,
dated February 29, informed Chase that
the President
accepted the situation as it then
existed and that no
change in the personnel of the Cabinet
would be neces-
sary.91 Chase requested
permission to publish the cor-
respondence that had taken place
relative to the circular
but the President clearly indicated
that he preferred to
keep his letters out of the press92
although he did not
categorically deny the request of his
rival. Hence Chase
felt at liberty to render a complete
account of his rela-
tions with Lincoln in regard to the
circular.93
Filled with doubt because of the
resolutions of Ohio
and Indiana, Chase began to cast about
for some anti-
dote to counteract their evil. He was
inclined to believe
that it was the Pomeroy Circular that
had caused the
damage.94 Garfield, in all
seriousness, wrote that he
believed it would be best for Chase to
withdraw, saying
that to continue would certainly divide
the party for no
good at all.95 This idea was not entirely new to Chase;
already he had suggested it to some of
his friends, im-
plying however, that he would refuse to
support Lin-
coln's candidacy.96 Greeley,
asked to give his advice,
91 Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln, II, 485.
92 Ibid,
491.
93 Cincinnati Commercial, March
3, 1864.
94 Chase MSS., Chase to Hall, March 6;
to Denny, March 7. [Pa.
Hist. Soc.]
95 Smith, Garfield, 1, 375.
96 Chase MSS., Chase to Jas. A.
Hamilton, February 29. [N. Y. Pub.
Lib.] Henry Cooke wrote to Jay Cooke:
"Mr. Chase has the question
of the presidency still in
abeyance." He also asked for Jay's opinion of
how Chase's prospects appeared in
Pennsylvania, saying that Chase desired
to know. [Cooke MSS., March 1.] Chase to
W. D. Gallagher, March 1,
[Pa. Hist. Soc.]
796 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
said that ordinarily an unsolicited
candidacy should not
be refused, but perhaps, like other
rules, this one was
altered by existing circumstances, and
a refusal would
be in order.97 William
Orton, one of the higher officers
of the Chase organization in New York,
also advised a
withdrawal. Such an action, he said,
would silence the
Chase critics and force all of
Lincoln's friends to con-
cede to Chase an unselfish spirit of
patriotism such as
Lincoln had not yet shown. Meantime it
was Orton's
plan to have the friends of Chase work
secretly so that
by the time of the Convention they
should be prepared
to present and support his name. Chase
responded that
he "agreed with no appreciable reserve"
to such a pro-
posal and added that the action of Ohio
afforded him
the desired opportunity to
"withdraw."98 The plan un-
folded rapidly and on that same day
Chase wrote to
Plantz, his former secretary, telling
him that a with-
drawal would soon be
forthcoming."99
Having almost decided thus, Chase
summoned James
M. Winchell for consultation. Winchell, unable to de-
cide at the moment, wrote a full
statement of his opinion
some hours later. It was his conviction
that the dangers
to be encountered from a withdrawal
were greater than
its possible advantages. One of the
most apparent of
the many risks was that the withdrawal
would be con-
97 Greeley MSS., Chase to Greeley,
February 29. [N. Y. Pub. Lib.]
Chase MSS., Greeley to Chase, March 2.
[Pa. Hist. Soc.]
98 Chase MSS., Orton to Chase, March 3,
1864; Chase to Orton, March
4. Chase also told Henry Cooke that he
was contemplating a withdrawal.
This, Henry explained to his brother,
did not mean that Chase was refusing
a candidacy. It was merely to indicate
that Chase did not wish to stand in
the way of the people if they preferred
Lincoln. [Cooke MSS., March 4,
Pa. Hist. Soc.]
99 Chase MSS., March 4. [Pa. Hist. Soc.]
Chase and the Election of 1860 797
sidered final by a great many and
therefore they would
become too far engaged to rivals to
retract when Chase's
name reappeared later. Another
objection was that those
who were furnishing the money for the
Chase movement
would cease their support when the
withdrawal became
public. It was Winchell's view that if
Chase wanted to
reap the fruits of a radical
organization he would also
have to share its responsibilities.100
Winchell's letter is
conclusive proof that the contemplated
withdrawal as
Chase presented it was not intended to
be final. It was
to silence those who denounced the
Secretary for aspir-
ing to the position of his chief and to
give the Chase
supporters a protecting cloak of
secrecy.101
By March 5, Chase had decided
definitely, and on
that date he sent a dispatch to his
friend Hall, in which
he said that since Ohio had expressed a
preference for
another candidate, he deemed it more a
pleasure than
a duty to withdraw his name from the
campaign. He
closed with an earnest and
patriotic-sounding plea for
party unity until nothing remained
unaccomplished.
The next day the Secretary wrote a
letter directing Hall
to have the dispatch published in the
Ohio papers.102
This letter had not yet reached Hall at
Columbus before
Chase had written many more to his
friends, telling
them that for the welfare of the party
and country he
100 Chase MSS.,
Winchell to Chase, March 4, 1864.
101 In a letter to W. P. Mellen, March
5, Chase again says as much.
[Chase MSS., Pa. Hist. Soc.] Writing for
the Galaxy in July, 1873, Win-
chell stated that the Chase withdrawal
was intended merely as an urge to
arouse the flagging spirits of the Chase
supporters and not to remove
Chase from the candidacy. [p. 38.]
102 Chase
MSS., Chase to Hall, March 6. [Pa. Hist. Soc.] On March
11, Hall replied and referred to the
dispatch and letter as having been sent
March 8.
798 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
had deemed it prudent to withdraw his
name from the
presidential canvass, despite the fact
that many urged
him to remain in the race.103 He
wished to have it clearly
understood that his action was purely
voluntary and in
no way forced, so that his friends
would still be at liberty
to draft him if they wanted him badly
enough.
Before the Hall letter appeared in the
Ohio papers,
word of its existence was common
property in Washing-
ton. The consensus of opinion among the
conservatives
was that it was untrustworthy; merely a
feeble shield
behind which the discontented could
labor more guard-
edly on behalf of the Secretary.104
Hall gave the letter
of March 5, to the Cincinnati and
Columbus papers with
instructions to print it on March 11.
He also gave them
the letter of January 18, which had
stated that Chase
would withdraw if Ohio manifested a
preference for
some other candidate. Chase had not
counted on such
a step and it did not quite fit his
plans, for it made the
withdrawal appear more like the
acceptance of defeat
than a voluntary and magnanimous act of
patriotism.105
The representative of the Cincinnati Commercial
in
Columbus--forehanded as usual--informed
his sheet of
the Chase withdrawal before the Hall
letter was made
public. On March 10, the Commercial printed
a long
editorial on the subject, which stated
that if Secretary
Chase had withdrawn his name because of
the legislative
caucus, he attached more importance to
the action of a
103 Chase
MSS., Chase to Thomas Brown, March 8; to Gunckel, March
11, to A. G. Riddle, March 11. [Pa.
Hist. Soc.] To Thomas Spooner,
March 9. [Lib. of Cong.]
104 Bates
diary, March 9, 1864; Letters received by Thurlow Weed,
Life of Thurlow Weed, II, 444, 445.
105 Chase MSS., Chase to Hall, March 13.
[Pa. Hist. Soc.]
Chase and the Election of 1860 799
few gentlemen at Columbus than did the
people of Ohio
generally. The editorial censured the
members of the
Legislature who had participated in the
caucus, saying
that they had not been elected to tell
the people whom
to choose for the next president. Their
resolution was
valuable only as an index to their
several notions despite
the fact that they, with a liberal
estimate of their own
importance, marked it as a proclamation
of the people.
It was the editor's opinion that Chase
had not attached
much significance to the action of the
Solons at the state
Capital but had withdrawn in order to
safeguard his
usefulness in the Treasury Department,
a magnanimous
consideration of the general good.
Moreover, the action
of the Lincoln men would only further
increase the
opposition of the radicals who would
not abate their
efforts against the President one whit.
In view of the
fact that the Commercial had
appeared exceedingly fa-
vorable to Lincoln during the previous
few weeks the
editorial was all the more surprising
and was, all things
considered, distinctly in Mr. Chase's
favor. The next
day the Commercial, as well as
other papers, published
the Chase-Hall correspondence.
Some papers lauded Chase and called his
action that
of a noble patriot. Greeley said he
regretted to see
Chase withdraw but hoped to see him
president in
1868.106 Raymond, of the Times, had
kind things to say
for Chase so glad was he to see him, as
he hoped, out of
the way.107 But Bennett
shouted that it was a feint, a
trick of some sort and admonished
readers of the Herald
to remember that the "Salmon is a
queer fish; very shy
106
N. Y. Tribune, March 11, 1864.
107 March 12.
800 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
and very wary, often appearing to avoid
the bait just
before gulping it down."108 The
Independent said that
Chase's letter did not decline a
nomination at the hands
of the properly constituted authority;
it merely removed
his name from partisan warfare.109
It was the same in
other cities; no one knew exactly what
was intended by
the withdrawal; some accepted it at its
face value, some
praised it, some condemned it, but none
knew or pre-
tended to know exactly what was meant.
Chase supporters were in much this same
position.
Many of them wrote to Chase expressing
their regret
in such a way as to make it
"parent that they believed
he did not want the nomination.110
To some of these
Chase's secretary made reply, saying
that Chase appre-
ciated their sentiments and had been
prompted by a
sense of public duty to take the course
he did.11" Other
supporters, better acquainted with the
man, expected the
withdrawal to operate to his ultimate
good. To some of
these Chase replied that he expected no
good to come
from it.112 In a letter to
his friend Dennison, Chase said
that the action of the Ohio Legislature
alone had not
caused him to withdraw. The real reason,
he said, was
because he saw that the civil and
military power of the
108 March 12.
109 March 12, 1864. Reprint in National
Intelligencer, March 19.
110 chase MSS., Donn Piatt to Chase,
March 12. [Pa. Hist. Soc.]
Henry Vallette to Chase; J. B. McKean to
Chase; D. S. Palmer to Chase,
March 12. [Lib. of Cong.]
111 Chase MSS., Chase to John M. Davis,
March 14; to Coggerhill,
March 19; to John Young, April 1. [Pa.
Hist. Soc.]
l12 Chase MSS., Chase to Ball, March 17.
[Pa. Hist. Soc.] Welles
thought differently. A decade or more
after the event he wrote: "Although
Mr. Chase had publicly declined being a
candidate, his friends or supporters
did not wholly discontinue their efforts
in his behalf, nor was he displeased
at their persistency...." Welles
MSS.
Chase and the Election of 1860 801
government were being used to elect
Lincoln, even at the
expense of the Treasury Department.113
The campaign
and the constant doubt were telling on
the calm and
placid bearing of the Secretary and he
began to write
that soon he would retire, adding that
no earthly reward
could induce him to remain in the same
administration
with a man who encouraged his followers
to vilify and
slander members of his Cabinet.114
To another admirer,
Chase explained what he had done and
then concluded:
"Just there I am to-day--neither
refusing anything nor
asking anything--willing to work, but
not unwilling to
be relieved from work."115 "After all," he said to the
editor of the Indianapolis Independent,
"I believe that I
would rather that the people should
wonder why I wasn't
president, than why I was."116
Chase's Hall letter left the
unfortunate National Ex-
ecutive Committee in the embarrassing
position of being
repudiated by its candidate. Senator
Sherman had al-
ready partially excused his part in the
affair by saying
that the circulars distributed under
his frank were sent
from his office by mistake; they were
sent folded and
sealed to his room, either by mistake
or design, and
without opening them he had sent them
out along with
numerous other documents. Sherman said,
however,
that he was in perfect accord with all
of the statements
contained in the circular except the
first. He believed
that should Lincoln receive the
nomination he would be
elected. Although he preferred Chase to
Lincoln be-
113 Chase MSS., Chase to Dennison, March
16. [Pa. Hist. Soc.]
114 Chase MSS., Chase to M. Burton, March 19, 1864. [Pa.
Hist. Soc.]
115 Chase MSS., Chase to--, March 29.
[Pa. Hist. Soc.]
116 Chase MSS., Chase to J. H. Jordan,
April 5. Cooke MSS., Chase
to Jay Cooke, April 5. [Pa. Hist. Soc.]
Vol. XXXIX--51.
802 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
cause the former had more executive
ability, Sherman
agreed that he would support the
nominee of the party
convention.117
On the same day that the Cincinnati Commercial
had
published the first intimation that
Chase was going to
withdraw his name, Pomeroy rose in the
Senate to de-
fend his action. He stated
unequivocally that he did
issue the circular and that it embodied
exactly the views
of the National Executive Committee on
the subject pre-
sented. The committee, he explained,
was instituted in
the usual manner in January, and for
reasons set forth
believed that Chase should be elected
the next president.
Chase was absolved from all complicity
in the matter,
being "drafted by the
Committee," according to the Sen-
ator. Then at great length Pomeroy
stated the platform
of the committee and promised that it
would continue
the work it had been doing.118
Senator Wilkinson, of Minnesota, who
but a short
time before had criticized the
President as being too
slow, now took the floor and condemned
the action of
the committee as being in bad taste so
long as Chase re-
mained in the Cabinet. Chase, he
conceded, was a good
Secretary, but he did not think he would
be a good Pres-
ident. Referring once more to Lincoln's
slowness, he
said that it was enough that he had not
progressed back-
ward and that he, for one, desired to
see the Administra-
tion continued for another term.119
After Pomeroy had replied to Senator
Wilkinson,
117 Sherman
letter to the Cincinnati Gazette published March 3; Boston
Advertiser, March 7; Crisis, March 9; National
Intelligencer, March 7,
1864.
118 Globe, 38 Cong., 1 sess. II, p. 1025.
119 Ibid, 1027.
Chase and the Election of 1860 803
Lane of Kansas took occasion to express
himself regard-
ing Pomeroy. Although several Senators
tried to quiet
the discussion of the Circular, they
were unable to do so
and it was continued the following day.
On March 11,
Senator Sherman spoke again in defence
of Chase and
was followed by Senator Hendricks of
Indiana. Hen-
dricks implied that the relationship of
Chase to the
Cooke firm was not at all what it
should be and that the
Secretary permitted certain of his
friends to engage in
illicit trade at New Orleans, producing
as proof for his
last point a letter given him by Frank
Blair.120 Of
course all this debate settled nothing,
but it served to
show that despite the withdrawal
letter, the committee
that promoted his candidacy intended to
continue its
efforts in his behalf. The press
devoted considerable
space to these debates and made it
clear to the public
that Chase was not entirely out of the race.121
Certainly the leaders of the Lincoln
party did not so
consider him. James M. Winchell,
according to his own
testimony made a number of years later,
was approached
by a prominent Senator claiming to
speak for the Presi-
dent, who offered him the choice of a
high diplomatic
position in Europe or an office in
Washington, in which
the present incumbent claimed to have
made a million
dollars without having wronged anyone.
Winchell
hinted that he preferred to have the
offer directly from
the President, believing, he said, that
the Senator had
not the authority to speak as he did.
In a few days,
however, the Senator returned to
Winchell saying that
120 Ibid, 1046, 1047; 1831.
121 N. Y. World, National
Intelligencer, March 11; Boston Advertiser,
March 14, 1864.
804
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
an interview with Lincoln had been
arranged. During
the conference at the White House the
President ap-
peared embarrassed but cordial, and
stated that the Sen-
ator had his confidence and any proper
promises that he
made would be supported. Winchell
retired to give the
subject more thought, but he never
accepted the proposi-
tion, continuing his efforts on behalf
of Chase.122
Whether or not Winchell's story, told
nine years later,
is entirely true is difficult to say,
but it might well have
been, for everything can be promised in
a political boom.
Thus on the eve of the Convention of
the Union
party the names of Chase and Lincoln
were before the
people, both having been placed there
by methods that
were slightly irregular and without
regard for the real
desires of the people. The President,
as the manager
of the majority party, had exercised
party control in
such a manner that his was the
advantage, but Chase
was by no means removed from public
consideration as
a contender, and by the operation of
under-cover poli-
tics, not unlike that by which state
indorsements had
-been procured for Lincoln, the Chase
men continued their
efforts.
CHAPTER V
THE DECISION
The most vociferous and not the least
effective oppo-
sition to the Chase boom continued to
come from the
Blairs. Montgomery in the Cabinet and
Frank in Con-
gress, were never silent. Frank had not
yet availed
122 In 1873, Winchell published in the Galaxy
a series entitled "Three
Interviews With Lincoln." In the
issue for July he gave the information
herein used, p. 39.
Chase and the Election of 1860 805
himself of that magnanimous offer of
the President to
return to the army after the
organization of the House
and was still lingering in Washington.
Although asked
repeatedly to repudiate the Blair
speeches and strike
their names from the official list of
his friends, Lincoln
steadily refused, insisting on their
loyalty and thus ac-
knowledging, at least by his silence,
the expressions of
public policy which they set forth.1
In January, 1864, Montgomery, by what
was for a
Blair a tactful speech, informed the
radicals that the
President's policy of emancipation,
having been con-
ducted to its consummation, would now
be followed by
a wise, humane policy of reconstruction
which would
succeed with even happier results.2
Radicals in the
North were by no means in accord with
his sanguine
pronouncement, and denunciation of the
"family of
Maryland serpents"3 burst
forth anew,--especially
strong was it from those papers
inclined toward Chase
for the presidency.
Since early January, Frank Blair had
been trying to
secure a House investigation of the
Treasury Depart-
ment, but owing to the offensive
wording of his resolu-
tion he had not succeeded. Finally on
February 27th,
he took matters into his own hands and
in a speech from
the floor of the House delivered an
indictment of Secre-
tary Chase and his subordinates, saying
that the friends
of the Secretary were unwilling to
permit an investiga-
tion. In addition he expressed himself
freely regarding
1 Trumbull MSS., G. B. Brown to
Trumbull, November 12, 1863; S.
M. Cullom, Fifty Years, 96;
Philadelphia Inquirer, January 27, 1864.
2 Baltimore American, January 25;
Philadelphia Inquirer, January 25.
3 Springfield Republican (Mass.),
February 4; Missouri Democrat, In-
dianapolis Gazette, both for
February 10.
806 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
the intent and purpose of the Pomeroy
circular and all
connected with it. He closed with a warning to the
Chase men to look for more in a few
days.4 The New
York Herald, with some pleasure
announced that Blair
had driven the Chase men to cover, but
Blow of Mis-
souri again managed a defence and
Greeley gave it
publicity.5 On February 29,
when Frank Blair rein-
troduced the resolution to investigate
the Treasury De-
partment, Thaddeus Stevens and Garfield
succeeded in
having it referred to the War Committee
with the added
power to investigate other departments
as well.6 This,
Cooke's paper pronounced a rebuke to
the Blair family
and hoped it would be a
"quietus" on them,7 but Cooke
hoped in vain. Montgomery Blair sent his brother's
speech of February 27, to
various papers along with his
own comments which included a statement
of his belief
that Chase wrote the Pomeroy Circular
himself.8 For a
time Chase was constrained to view
these forensic as-
saults tolerantly although they irked
his sensitive na-
ture. By the last of February, however,
he was writing
to his friends that unless the Blairs
were silenced he
would not only withdraw his name from
the canvass but
would resign his Cabinet position as
well.9
The Cincinnati Commercial, usually
favorable to the
Administration, recommended that
someone propose a
resolution that the government be
turned over to the
4 Globe, Pt. IV, 38 Cong., 1st
Sess., Appen., p. 51. [46 to 51.]
5 Ibid., Pt. I, 38 Cong., 1st Sess., 779-782; N. Y. Tribune, February
24,
25, 1864; also Philadelphia Inquirer of
same dates.
6 Ibid, I, 38 Cong., 1st Sess., pp. 876, 878; St. Louis Union,
February 5,
7 Philadelphia Inquirer, March 1.
8 Chase MSS., Parsons to Chase, March 7,
1864.
9 Chase MSS., Chase to James A.
Hamilton, February 29; [N. Y.
Pub. Lib.] Chase to Greeley, February
29. [Pa. Hist. Soc.]
Chase and the Election of 1860 807
Blair family with the simple request
that they run af-
fairs as nearly as they conveniently
could on Republican
principles. After this bit of sarcasm
the editor re-
minded his readers that Fremont had
been offered as a
sacrifice on the altar of the Blairs,
and that they, never
having been noted for either justice or
truthfulness,
were attempting to get rid of Chase in
the same
fashion.10 On March 8, the Commercial continued its
condemnation of the Blairs, but denied
that Lincoln in
any way sanctioned their speeches.
Frank Blair's aspersions regarding the
integrity of
Chase made the opportunity for which
the enemies of
the Blair family had been waiting and
on March 9,
McClurg, a representative from
Missouri, delivered a
scathing indictment of illicit trade,
charging that Frank
Blair and some of his fellow-officers
had profited by such
transactions. Blair at once denounced
the charges as
false and the letter which McClurg had
submitted as evi-
dence, a forgery.11 The tiff was a draw
and might have
ended there had not McClurg renewed the
attack on
March 23. This time he undertook to
prove that on
several occasions Blair had stated for
truth, what
he knew to be false. "False in
one, false in all" was Mc-
Clurg's deduction. The speech was long
and bitter, and
Blair who had not been on the floor
when it began, was
angered almost beyond expression but
managed to re-
quest an immediate investigation and to
pronounce Mc-
Clurg an "infamous liar and
scoundrel" and when called
to order by the Speaker, said that he
knew of no milder
language that could describe his
colleague. After Blair
10 March 7.
11 Globe, II, 38 Cong., 1st Sess., pp. 1013-1017.
808
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
or his friends had reduced the
resolution to writing,
Thaddeus Stevens, seconded by Garfield,
hectored the
badgered General further by proposing
alterations and
amendments, none of which really
changed the resolu-
tion.12
The committee worked fast and on April
23, made
its report, completely exonerating the
accused. It was a
triumph for the dashing young Frank,
but the Blairs,
when in a fight, demanded a funeral, so
it was not
enough. Frank gained permission to
speak and de-
livered the most acrimonious philippic
ever heard in the
House, in total disregard for repeated
calls for order.
He charged Chase with various crimes
ranging from
petty forgery to treason. Speaker
Colfax, a friend of
Chase and the radicals, finally made it
clear that he
would permit no more of the tirade
against Chase, so
Blair trained his guns, still
supercharged with venom,
on the committee that had exonerated
him, saying that
by their report they had
"whitewashed" Chase because
he was their presidential candidate. By
this time in-
dignant Senators had come into the hall
and half the
House was on its feet. Blair, undaunted
by the con-
tinued reprimands from the Chair,
thundered on, start-
ing in again to charge the whole
Treasury personnel a
gang of thieves. Colfax would have
ended it all by
ruling that Blair was out of order, but
Mallory of Ken-
tucky moved that Blair be permitted to
talk on whatever
subject he pleased, and it was so
decided. But Blair
could now do no worse, he merely
continued until he
was satisfied that he had exposed
Chase's whole public
12 Ibid., II, 38 Cong., 1st Sess., pp. 1251-1254.
Chase and the Election of 1860 809
life and plans in the most complete
fashion possible.l3
Having finished, he hastened down
Pennsylvania Avenue
to the White House to receive from
Lincoln's own hands
his old commission in the army. His
work in the House
was done.
All Washington was talking. Members of
Con-
gress were either furious or immensely
pleased. The
papers made a great sensation.14 Was
Lincoln striking
at Chase through the Blairs? Had he
read Frank's
speech and was the return of his
commission a reward?
The New York Times sought to
relieve the President of
any charges of complicity by saying
that Lincoln sought
to remove Blair to an area where he
could direct his at-
tack toward rebels and so relieve
honest men.15 But it
was weak. Friends of Blair took the
speech at its face
value and presented him with a handsome
five hundred-
dollar sword, scabbard, and belt, out
of sheer apprecia-
tion.16 The supporters of
Chase were constrained to
think that Lincoln had ordered the
attack, and Chase
agreed that at least the President
would do nothing to
check its influence, even if he had not
actually ordered
it.17
Of those who condemned the speech the
Congres-
sional delegation from Ohio was most
active. It was
13 Ibid., pp. 1827-1832.
14 Welles,
Diary, II, 20.
15 May 2, reprinted in Cincinnati Commercial,
May 4, 1864.
16 National Intelligencer, April 26, 1864.
17 Smith, Garfield, I, 376; National
Intelligencer, April 30; Sherman
MSS., W. S. Hickox to J. Sherman, April
30; Riddle, Recollections, 267,
271, 274; Chase MSS., Chase to J. Cooke,
May 5. [Pa. Hist. Soc.] Welles
MSS., Unpublished articles on Lincoln;
Chase MSS., H. D. Moore to
John Jay, May 10 [Pa. Hist. Soc.]; Chase
to Parsons, May 6; to Gov.
Brough, May 19. [Lib. of Cong.]
810 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
their original plan to call on Lincoln
and demand the
immediate removal of Frank Blair from
command. If
the President refused they would then
go to Chase and
persuade him to resign.18 The
delegation, through Ash-
ley, got in touch with Chase almost at
once,19 and sent
Judge Spalding and A. G. Riddle to
interview the Pres-
ident. Lincoln absolutely denied any
connection with
the attack and explained that the
commission had been
returned before he knew of the speech.20
This state-
ment, Chase believed to be of small
value since it was
verbal and made to only two men. He
proposed that
the delegation put the whole subject in
writing and get
a written reply from the President;21
even going so far
as to begin a draft of a paper that
would achieve the
desired satisfaction from Lincoln.22
Chase suffered from the Blair attack,
but his friends
in Ohio wrote that Lincoln, so lately
indorsed there,
could not now muster a dozen votes in
the entire legisla-
ture.23 Singularly enough, the friends of Chase in Con-
gress, though they were active in
"investigation" and
raged against the "Blair
dynasty," made no satisfactory
denial of Blair's bold charges.
The states were now preparing to
assemble in Con-
vention at Baltimore. Senator E. D. Morgan had
called the National Republican
Committee together in
18 Bates
diary, May 1.
19 Chase MSS., Ashley to Chase
(undated).
20 Riddle, op. cit., 271ff.
21 Chase MSS., Chase to Cooke, May 5,
1864.
22 A scrap of MS. in Chase's hand in the
collection of the Pa. Hist. Soc.
is a draft of such a document. There is
no evidence in the Lincoln collec-
tion of such a paper, nor is there a
complete copy in the Chase MSS. at
Washington, Philadelphia, New York or
Cambridge.
23 John Sherman MSS., C. H. Spohr to
Sherman, May 6.
Chase and the Election of 1860 811
February, and they had decided that the
Convention
should be held on June 7.24 The Chase men
had at once
pronounced the date too early although
it was almost a
month later than the Convention of
1860. Despite re-
peated and vociferous demand for a
postponement the
date remained as set.25 Henry
Winter Davis had sought
to prevent the Convention from meeting
at Baltimore by
hiring the assembly hall and pocketing
the key, but the
action of the Ohio legislature and
Chase's withdrawal
led him to change his mind.26 Nothing
could delay the
Convention, not even the discontent
stirred up by the
Treasury Department, so Gideon Welles
said.27 The
majority of the delegates were
instructed for Lincoln28
though Medary charged that it had been
done by fraud.29
The President did not cease his
efforts, however, say-
ing that he could not forget that he
had been nominated
in 1860 by a convention "that was
two-thirds for the
other fellow."30 It was
reported that Colonel A. K.
McClure was working to nominate any man
other than
24 Philadelphia
Inquirer, February 23; Welles, Diary, I, 529.
25 Indianapolis Gazette, February
22; N. Y. Post, March 6, 30, 31; Na-
tional Intelligencer, March 10, April 9, 28; Troy Whig, March 29;
Port-
land (Me.) Daily Press, March 30;
Boston Transcript, March 31; N. Y.
Tribune, April 1; Cincinnati Commercial, April 4, 22; N.
Y. Times, April
4, 8, 27, 30; N. Y. Independent, April
7. Of these only Raymond of the
New York Times favored the date,
June 7.
26 Cincinnati Commercial, May 7,
stated that it was Pomeroy who had
hired the hall, but Welles wrote in his
diary, May 13, that it was Davis.
27 Welles, Diary, II, 44.
28 California held her convention March
24, and named Lincoln; Wis-
consin, March 30; Florida, guided by
John Hay, May 18; Ohio, May 25;
Illinois, May 25; New York, May 25; New
Hampshire, May 31; Maine,
June 29.
29 Crisis, June 8.
30
McClure, Lincoln and Men of War Time, 124.
812 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications
Lincoln.31 The President summoned him to Washing-
ton and after a
conference it was decided that he should
be one of the
delegates-at-large from Pennsylvania,
charged with
protecting the interests of Mr. Lincoln
against the schemes
of Cameron. McClure and Cam-
eron were enemies, so
McClure consented. The Presi-
dent then engaged
Cameron to watch McClure, so both
went to Baltimore to
vote for Lincoln, each thinking he
was responsible for
the other.32
Chase, personally,
had little hope from the Conven-
tion saying that it
was only a Blair-Lincoln Convention
and that the country
would so regard it.33 He stated on
several occasions
that he did not want his name to be
considered at
Baltimore and that if the Convention
should nominate him
he would decline,34 but his denials
lack conviction. His
charge that the Convention would
not have the
confidence of the country was not without
some foundation in
fact. Henry J. Raymond, National
Chairman, felt it
too, and in his first speech warned the
members that the
moral effect of the Convention might
be bad.35 With
the idea of eliminating the possible criti-
cism that it was
conservative, young Nicolay, as a mem-
ber of the Illinois
delegation, urged that the Radicals
of Missouri be seated
in the Convention.36 This move
31 J. Sherman MSS.,
Denny to Sherman, May 22.
32 McClure, Old Time Notes, II, 137ff.
33 Chase MSS., Chase
to Brough May 19. [Pa. Hist. Soc.]
34 Chase MSS., Chase
to L. D. Stickney, May 25; to Seward, May 30
[Pa. Hist. Soc.] N. Y.
Post, May 29; Cincinnati Gazette, June 6; Cin-
cinnati Commercial,
June 10, 1864.
35 N. Y. World, June
9; N. Y. Times, June 10.
36 Carr, My Day and
Generation, 138. Mr. Lincoln's other secretary,
John Hay, had been
sent to Florida to carry out the President's plan of
reconstruction. He
also watched Homer G. Plantz, a former secretary
Chase and the Election of 1860 813
served its purpose admirably; Blair
could not under-
stand it at all, and Welles pronounced
it a triumph of
rogues over honest men.
The Convention passed quietly and
uneventfully.
About the only general demand was for a
Cabinet reor-
ganization.37 This, said the
New York World, was
made necessary because the nominee had
so many official
sins of his own to answer for that he
could not be ex-
pected to carry those of Welles,
Seward, Bates and
Blair. The New York Evening Post was
not surprised
at the outcome and said that "many
of the thieving and
corrupt scoundrels of the political
mews" had capitalized
the President's popularity with the
common man.38 The
World, never moderate, hailed "the age of rail-splitters
and tailors, buffoons, boors and
fanatics" and pro-
nounced both nominees of the Convention
equally unfit;
a well-balanced ticket.39 The
National Intelligencer,
never radical, mustered the courage to
reprint the un-
kind comments made about the candidates
and agreed
that the Convention had been held too
early, citing the
nominations as a proof. Moreover, the
editor predicted
that the Republicans of the country
would not accept the
to Mr. Chase and now a departmental
official in Fla. Mr. Hay was the
better organizer however, and the
Florida delegation--made up from only
two counties--was for Lincoln.
To avoid the charge that the Convention
ignored the Chase element
of the party, Dennison of Ohio was made
Chairman of the Convention.
[Stanton, Random Recollections.]
37 N. Y. World, June 9. As a
matter of fact Lincoln's nomination was
a foregone conclusion when the
Convention assembled and only a few like
Ben Butler expressed surprise that the
country could "stomach this weak,
imperfect government another four years
more." [Correspondence of Benj.
F. Butler, IV, 342.]
38 June 6, 1864.
39 June 9.
814
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
action as final.40 Even the
Albany Journal censured the
President for his unseemly haste and
the Convention for
its nominee.41 So the Chase
men had reason to work on.
The Cookes and others paid the last
instalments on a
campaign biography of Chase to be sent
to two thousand
newspapers all over the country. The
Secretary wrote
that never had his name seemed more
popular.42
While politics made the scanty war news
even less
apparent, the battles continued. Grant,
chosen as a last
resort, was pitted against Lee, the man
who had already
vanquished seven Union commanders sent
against him.
Grant crossed the Rapidan into the
Wilderness; over
dusty roads or muddy, half blocked with
the debris and
unburied of Manassas; with green
troops, most of them
begrudging the service they were
compelled to render;--
could success come from all this?
Before midsummer
Grant had lost sixty thousand men.
"The heavens are
hung in black," said the
President.43 Ohio, Indiana and
Horace Greeley called for peace, and
the President, fear-
ing lest Greeley do something
detrimental to his cause at
the Niagara Peace Conference, sent John
Hay to stand
watch.
Of Sherman, half way to Atlanta, the
public heard
little. For that matter little was
heard from Grant that
was dependable, but the enlarged
hospitals, never large
enough, told the story. There was
reason for Chase to
hope that even yet there was time
enough for him to be
chosen as Lincoln's successor. Never
over-friendly to
40 June 10.
41 June 11.
42 Cooke MSS. Wise to Cooke, April 25.
Chase MSS., Chase to Bickham, June 15.
[Pa. Hist. Soc.]
43 Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln,
II, 533.
Chase and the Election of 1860 815
his chief, he was now almost entirely
estranged. Young
Robert Lincoln told a caller at the
White House that the
relation existing between his father
and Chase was that
of "armed neutrality"44
and these words attributed to the
President's son described the situation
exactly.
For months Chase had been toying with
the resigna-
tion idea.45 Was not this
the moment? The President
crowded by Congress, hectored by the
politicians and in
mortal terror lest Grant fail! Could he
ever find a time
when his resignation would cause
greater consternation?
In June, the excuse came. John Cisco
resigned an im-
portant post in New York. Weed and
Senator Morgan
demanded that a conservative like
themselves be named
in his stead. Chase proposed to appoint
M. B. Field,
one of his own ardent supporters. To
this Dixon pro-
tested so successfully that the
President asked Chase to
withdraw Field's name and substitute
one of three men-
tioned by Dixon. Chase at once sent a
dispatch to Cisco
asking him to remain, which he agreed
to do. But Lin-
coln must be humbled. Chase so wrote a
resignation
that its refusal by the President would
be equivalent to
agreeing that hereafter the Secretary could
do as he
liked with Treasury patronage. If the
resignation were
accepted then Chase would be freer than
before to en-
gage in a political campaign, and he
did not believe that
the President would dare dispense with
his services. On
June 30, after he had read Lincoln's
surprising ac-
44 Schuckers MSS. Undated memorandum.
45 Chase MSS. Chase to Brown, February
26, 1864. In March, Chase
had a resignation written because
Lincoln refused to make an appointment.
Senator Dixon patched up a truce and
Chase continued in office. Chase
MSS. IChase to M. P. Gaddis, March 10;
to Mr. Street, March 31; to
Joshua Hanna, April 5; to Parsons, May
7. [Pa. Hist. Soc.]
816 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
ceptance of his resignation, Chase
confided to his diary
that he could not imagine what
embarrassment the Pres-
ident could ever have had from him.
Governor Brough,
who tried to persuade Lincoln to retain
Chase could
make no headway.46 It was
done; and Gideon Welles
said, "well done."47
During the next few days Chase must
have regretted
his act; at least, have viewed it with
misgiving. To
Bryant, he wrote that he was glad to be
free from an
office that had never been more than an
opportunity for
work.48 To another, he said,
"The persistent attacks of
Montgomery Blair and his brother had
created for me
great embarrassment . . . and it was
not very agreeable
to me that the President in his regard
desired to put us
very much on a level--w4th some,
perhaps considerable,
balance on the Blairs' side."49
On July 4, after his suc-
cessor had called and told him that
Lincoln requested
that all of the Chase appointees be
retained in office,
Chase wrote in his diary that had
Lincoln, in reply to
the note tendering his resignation,
expressed himself as
he had to Fessenden, the resignation
would have been
cheerfully withdrawn. That same day he
expressed re-
gret to his daughter that he had been
denied the chance
to complete the great work he had
begun.50
46 D. J. Ryan, "Lincoln and
Ohio," op. cit., 220.
47 Welles,
Diary, II, 62, 63, 94.
48 Chase MSS. June 30, 1864. [Pa. Hist. Soc.]
49 Chase MSS. Chase to Cisco, July 1. On
July 3, he wrote in a
similar way to Plantz; to Chas. A.
Heckscher, July 5; to Parsons, July
8, Sept. 14. [Pa. Hist. Soc.]
50 Chase
MSS. Chase to Nettie Chase, July 5. Chase gave a rather
complete and very interesting account to
his friend Hosea of Cincinnati.
"It was a real relief to have my
resignation accepted, and yet I should not
have retired because of any desire for
relief. I felt able with God's favor
to carry the, load and did not doubt, if
I could have the cordial support
Chase and the Election of 1860 817
The New York Herald greeted the
announcement of
the resignation with joy, pronouncing it
the most hope-
ful sign yet,51 but Greeley
mourned the loss of "one of
the few great men left" from the
day of Webster, Clay
and Calhoun.52 The Intelligencer
also lamented his offi-
cial demise, but made haste to recover
with the Admin-
istration.53 The Indianapolis
Sentinel extolled the
former Secretary as the cleverest head
in the Cabinet54
and in Cincinnati, the Gazette defended
him and pre-
dicted dire results from the loss of his
services.55
The attention of Lincoln was not allowed
to dwell
long upon the problem of Chase. Congress
passed the
Wade-Davis bill two days before its
adjournment and
the bill died in the President's
capacious pocket. This
inspired the two radicals who had
sponsored it to present
an ill-tempered manifesto charging the
President with
the intention of controlling reconstruction
to further his
of Mr. Lincoln in the administration of
my department, of complete suc-
cess. But that I could not have. On the
contrary, I found I was to be
subjected to the control of persons
outside of the Department, even in a
matter so vital to all my hopes of
success as the appointment of the As-
sistant Treasurer of New York. This
satisfied me that my position here
was not agreeable to Mr. Lincoln and if
not it was vain for me to hope
for real usefulness to the country. I
therefore turned in my resignation
and he showed that my conviction was
well founded by accepting it....
Would our condition today have been
better had more heed been given to
my urgent desire for more vigor, more
system, more energy, earlier recog-
nition of the right of all loyal men of
whatever complexion or condition to
be soldiers and citizens? I cannot help
thinking so.
"But I still hope for the best.
God, I reverently trust, does not mean
to let this country perish." [Misc.
MSS. Chase to W. G. Hosea, July 10.
Harvard Univ. Lib.]
51 July 1, 1864.
52 N.
Y. Tribune, July 1.
53 July 1.
54 July 1.
55 July 1, 2, and 8.
Vol. XXXIX--52.
818 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
personal ambition and perpetuate his
administration. It
is probable that Chase had had nothing
to do with draft-
ing the bill but once he learned of it
he was anxious to
have it passed.56 The
manifesto, coming as it did on
August 5, after Chase's resignation,
was an added
weight to the already heavy burden of
the President.57
Moreover it was entirely in keeping
with the move-
ment then under way to eliminate him
and name some
other candidate in his stead.
On May 21, a Radical Convention had
been held at
Cleveland and had named General Fremont
as its candi-
date. Gideon Welles wrote that it had
been intended
that Chase's name be presented to that
body, but on
seeing that the Convention was made up
of unimportant
and uninfluential persons they decided
to withhold it
and continue their work independently.58
The Conven-
tion did not have a great deal of
influence and so caused
little worry in the Republican camp.59
The only numer-
ous body of voters influenced by it was
the German ele-
ment. As a group they favored Fremont
and were
practically unanimous in their
opposition to Lincoln.60
A few radicals scattered over the
country favored the
ticket named by the Cleveland
Convention, but in the
main they withheld their support,
awaiting a more
auspicious moment to sidetrack the
President.
While the Cleveland Convention was
getting under
56 Perry, Life aid Letters of Francis
Lieber, 346. A letter to Charles
Sumner shows that Chase had so expressed
himself.
57 Welles recorded in his diary on July 1, that Chase and other radicals
were scheming to injure Mr. Lincoln.
58 Welles MSS. Unpublished Articles.
59 N. Y. Times, June 1, 3,
1864; N. Y. Post, June 2; National Intelli-
gencer, May 31; Cincinnati Commercial, June 1, 1864.
60 Mississippi Bldtter, March 6,
13, 20, April 10.
Chase and the Election of 1860 819
way, Pomeroy and his colleagues on the
National Ex-
ecutive Committee were planning to hold
a People's
Convention at the same time that the
Republican Con-
vention met in Baltimore61 but
owing to the practically
perfect organization of the Lincoln
men, the scheme
made little headway. Nevertheless
opposition to the
President continued. After his
resignation Chase went
to the White Mountains, ostensibly to
recover from the
arduous labors of the Treasury
Department, but he
found plenty of opportunity to confer
with his followers
and make visits to Boston, New York and
smaller cen-
ters of unrest.62 The veto
of the Wade-Davis Bill had
excited opposition all over the country63
and Chase was
kept informed as to what was going on
in regard to this;
Pomeroy, Garfield and others telling
him what was tak-
ing place at Washington.64
Horace Greeley, long in close communion
with the
friends of Chase, was daily becoming
more and more
confirmed in his opinion that to defeat
the Democrats in
November, it would be necessary to name
some candi-
date other than Lincoln.65 The
Albany Statesman was
like minded and called on Lincoln to
resign if he was at
all patriotically inclined.66 On
August 6, the citizens of
Butler county, Ohio, assembled to
"consider the proposi-
tion of inviting the withdrawal of
Lincoln and Fremont
from the Presidential canvass and to
call a National
Convention to meet at Buffalo on the
twenty-second of
61 Chase MSS. John Wilson to Chase, May 2.
62 McClure, Lincoln and Men of War
Time, 126.
63 Cairo Democrat, July 14, 1864.
64 Chase diary, July 6. [Pa. Hist. Soc.]
65 N.
Y. Tribune, July and August. passim. McClure, op. cit., 297.
66 Quoted in Crisis, August 3.
820 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
September."67 This
movement was ably supported by
the New York Herald and the Post.68 Henry
Winter
Davis signed copies of the call for the
Convention and
mailed them out, enclosing copies of
the Wade-Davis
bill.69
The meeting at Hamilton, Ohio, failed
in its pur-
pose; the resolutions requesting the
withdrawal of Lin-
coln and Fremont were tabled, and no
call for a conven-
tion was issued.70 A second
meeting was called for Sep-
tember 3, and this call, like the
former, was written by
L. D. Campbell. Though it was quite widely sup-
ported,71 Campbell was not
the man to head an insurrec-
tion and the plan for a Buffalo
Convention gradually
gave way to the movement for a
convention to be held at
Cincinnati on September 28.
None of these calls named a candidate
to replace Lin-
coln although the papers frequently
suggested one. Ap-
parently the movement was not in favor
of any particu-
lar man, but it is significant that L.
D. Campbell had
been known as a Chase supporter and the
action for a
new convention was strongest in
southern Ohio which
was acknowledged to be partial to
Chase. Moreover, the
call for a convention to be held in
Cincinnati originated
in New York72 among men who
were actively engaged in
67 Quoted in the Cincinnati Commercial,
August 6; Crisis, August 10.
68 Issues in both instances of August
4-6.
69 National Intelligencer, August 13; Cincinnati Commercial, August 16.
70 Cincinnati Commercial, August 8.
71 Ibid., August 12.
72
The Cincinnati Commercial on September 5, published the call for
the Cincinnati Convention but stated
that it originated in Ohio. The reason
for doubting this is that the call
published is identical with the one circu-
lated in New York before August 18,
except for the omission of the words
"undersigned citizens of New
York" which was necessary when it was
circulated in other states. The New York
movement was more or less
Chase and the Election of 1860 821
his behalf. Many of these were
appointees Chase had
named while he was Secretary of the
Treasury. The
New Yorkers who urged the Cincinnati
Convention sent
out the call and a carefully worded
letter to important
men in New York and elsewhere, inviting
them to a
meeting at the home of George Opdyke in
New York
City on August 19, to perfect plans for
a nation-wide
campaign.
Chase knew of the movement and wrote to
his
friends of the growing dissatisfaction,
saying that the
people were now cognizant of the fact
that a political
trick had been played on them at
Baltimore.73 New
England friends who called on him
expressed their dis-
satisfaction freely and seemed agreed
that a new can-
didate was necessary for party victory.74
Of course
Chase did not attend the conference at
Opdyke's hom&
but he had a representative there to
speak for him.75
It was decided at this meeting to mail
the call to im-
portant men in all the states and each
man present was
given a number of copies for that
purpose. The re-
cipients of the call were requested to
send replies to
John A. Stevens, Jr., so that they
could be considered
at a second meeting to be held at the
home of David
Dudley Field on August 30. This date
was considered
secret and was no doubt unknown to the Commercial
since that paper was
friendly to Mr. Lincoln, supporting him
while the Buffalo Convention was
yet talked of. Pearson in his Life of
John A. Andrew, [II, 159] also im-
plies that the call originated in New
York.
73 Chase MSS. Chase to W. P. Mellen,
August 10, 1864. [Pa. Hist.
Soc.]
74 Chase diary, August 13, 15, 18. [Pa.
Hist. Soc.]
75 N. Y. Sun. Greeley was not able to attend either but he
expressed
a whole-hearted approval of the meeting
in a letter to Opdyke, August 19.
See also Chase diary, August 19. [Pa.
Hist. Soc.]
822
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
late enough to disclose fully the
probable strength of
the Democrats, inasmuch as they would
have assembled
in convention at Chicago on August 29.
Among the
more active participants in the
movement outside of
New York were Henry Winter Davis,
Colonel Shaffer,
Richard Smith, of the Cincinnati Gazette,
Amasa Wal-
ker, Benjamin F. Butler, Charles
Sumner, Emil Pre-
torious, German leader of St. Louis, N.
G. Upham,
Thomas Williams and many others.
While the New York organization was
carrying on
its correspondence with the radicals of
the North, a
number of gentlemen in Boston,
frequenters of the Bird
Club, addressed a letter to Fremont
asking him to with-
draw his name from the canvass provided
Lincoln could
be induced to do likewise. This letter
was published in
the press and drew a great amount of
attention.76 Cap-
tain Herbert and Richard Smith, who
were supporters
of the movement headed by Opdyke and
Stevens, gave
publicity to the Boston letter in the
columns of their
paper, the Cincinnati Gazette. Likewise,
the Cincinnati
Times sponsored any movement whatsoever that would
eliminate Lincoln and thus insure a
Republican triumph.
The Commercial, with a cautious
regard for its sub-
scription list, was noncommittal and
merely printed the
facts.
Fremont's reply to the Boston letter
stated that he
did not feel that he could withdraw
without first con-
sulting the party that had nominated
him. His sugges-
tion was that an immediate
understanding be arrived at
by the friends of both candidates in
order that they
76 N. Y. papers, August 25-26; Crisis,
September 14; Cincinnati papers,
August 27, 1864.
Chase and the Election of 1860 823
might combine their strength in support
of a candidate
who would make victory certain. This
letter also was
widely published and fitted nicely into
the plans made to
hold a convention in Cincinnati.
During this time a meeting had been
held in Wash-
ington made up, said Judge David Davis
in a letter to
Weed, of Chase's friends, mostly
treasury officials.
They resolved not to support Lincoln.77
Samuel Bowles
also thought that the agitation in
Washington was on
behalf of Chase who, he said, "is
going around peddling
his griefs in private ears and sowing
dissatisfaction
about Lincoln."78 Gideon
Welles recorded his belief
that Chase's aspirations were not yet
extinguished.79
With so general a knowledge of what was
going on it
was inevitable that the President
should learn of the
situation but he showed no signs of
withdrawing. He
did believe, however, that the
agitation would bring
about his defeat in November. On August
23, he pre-
sented a sealed paper to his Cabinet,
asking that they
indorse it without reading its
contents, which they did.
Later, after the election, the
President disclosed the se-
cret of the document which read:80
This morning, as for some days past, it
seems exceedingly
probable that this Administration will not be
re-elected. Then
it will be my duty to so co-operate with the
President-elect. as to
save the Union between the election and
the inauguration; as he
will have secured his election on such
ground that he cannot pos-
sibly save it afterward.
77 Weed, Letters, II, 445.
78 G. S. Merriam, Life and Times of Samuel Bowles, 1,
413.
79 Welles, Diary, II, 120.
80 Lincoln MSS. Cabinet letter dated
August 23, indorsed by William
H. Seward, W. P. Fessenden, Edwin M.
Stanton, Gideon Welles, Edward
Bates, M. Blair and J. P. Usher.
824
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
This almost hopeless feeling of
despondency af-
fected, not only the President but all
those nearest him,
John Hay afterward testified.81
Meantime, replies to the call for a
convention were
pouring into the office of John A.
Stevens. Henry Win-
ter Davis was optimistic, believing
that New York, the
northeastern states, Pennsylvania,
Delaware, Ohio and
Michigan would support the movement.
Wade, in Chi-
cago with an eye on the Democrats,
wrote to Davis, in-
structing him to have everything ready
for action as
soon as the Chicago Convention should
declare itself.
Daniel S. Dickinson responded that he
heartily favored
the movement but that he would deny
himself the pleas-
ure of attending the conference since
his name had been
used in the Baltimore Convention as a
nominee for vice-
presidency. Richard Smith, speaking for
Captain Her-
bert as well as for himself, wrote that
the movement was
bringing forth good fruit in Ohio.
Roscoe Conkling
would not openly support the movement
but he agreed
to remain silent and to that extent
countenance it. He
was making a race for Congress on the
Republican ticket
and was, no doubt, excused by the
committee on that
account. Edgar Conkling, of Cincinnati,
was enthusias-
tic for the movement and worked
diligently to further it.
John Jay, of Rhode Island, proposed
addressing a letter
to Lincoln at once, requesting him to
voluntarily with-
draw his name and support the new
candidate to be
selected, but like Sumner, Jay favored
going on whether
Lincoln withdrew or not. From St.
Louis, Emil Pre-
torious, Chairman of the Fremont
Committee of Mis-
81 Privately printed diary, III, 220,
242; R. Thayer, Life of John Hay,
1, 216.
Chase and the Election of 1860 825
souri, wrote that he would try to learn
the feeling of
the radicals in the west but that
personally he favored
the plan. Old Jacob Collamer, slow to
change his con-
victions, at first refused to have
anything to do with the
movement but finally agreed to lend his
support should
Lincoln voluntarily withdraw his name.82
The nomination of McClellan created the
greatest
enthusiasm among the Democrats and they
prepared for
a vigorous campaign.83 Their
rallying cry condemned
the war as a failure and denounced
Lincoln for it.
Their press, particularly in Ohio, was
virulent. The
Ohio Statesman referred to the President as "the tyrant,
the knave, the indecent joker,"84
while the Cleveland
Plain Dealer described his as
a third rate lawyer from Springfield,
Illinois, who once kept a
whisky still up a hollow, split three
thousand rails and now splits
the American Union and calls for negro
songs on a crimson bat-
tlefield, yet has the audacity to
aspire again to the Chief Magis-
tracy of this great Republic.
In another issue this same paper
referred to Lincoln
as a "miserable failure, a coarse,
filthy joker, a dis-
gusting politician, a mean, cunning and
cruel tyrant and
the shame and disgrace of the
Nation."85 Even Francis
Lieber, a constant supporter of
Lincoln, believed that it
would be better for him to withdraw his
name and unite
the party to defeat his vilifiers.86
Trumbull was asked
82 The above is gathered from forty
letters printed in the New York
Sun, June 30, 1889.
83 National Intelligencer, September 2, 1864. John wrote to William
Sherman that McClellan's nomination made
the political race too close
for comfort. Sherman Letters, 239.
84 September
1.
85 September 6, 13.
86 Perry,
Life and Letters of Lieber, 350. Letter to Halleck, Septem-
ber 1.
826 Ohio
Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
by two of his constituents to have
Lincoln's name with-
drawn87 and Sherman's
correspondence contained simi-
lar requests.88
The pressure was becoming almost too
strong to be
resisted. Even the patient Lincoln
weakened and on
September first called his loyal friend
and counsellor,
Montgomery Blair, home from New
Hampshire89
(where his very presence had made Chase
uncomforta-
ble) to tell him of a new plan.
Immediately after the
Baltimore Convention, Blair had offered
to resign his
Cabinet position but no action was
taken at that time.
Now the President requested permission
to avail himself
of that offer.90 So Blair
"resigned" as Bennett said in
the Herald, "drowned in
rose water."91
But Lincoln did not sacrifice his
friend in vain. The
same papers that informed the people of
Blair's resigna-
tion told them also that Fremont
withdrew his name
from
the canvass.92 Moreover, Zachary Chandler, not
caring for Lincoln so much as for
office, ran back and
forth between the White House and
Capitol, acting as
an emissary of peace. The outcome of
this was the
agreement on the part of Messrs. Wade
and Davis to
take the stump for the party and its
ticket, provided
87 Trumbull
MSS. Martin to Trumbull, September 2, 3.
88 John
Sherman MSS. C. P. James to Sherman, September 2.
89 Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln, II, 571.
90 Ibid., 579. Bates diary, September 23. Blair did not know the
de-
tails of the bargain or at least he did
not tell them to Bates. According
to their conversation Lincoln left Blair
to guess at the reason for the resig-
nation.
91 September 26, 1864. See also
Cincinnati Commercial, September 27.
92 Cincinnati Commercial, September
23. Dispatch of the Associated
Press.
Chase and the Election of 1860 827
Blair be dropped from the council
board.93 Then too,
Blair had exchanged bitter words with
Halleck after
Jubal Early's raid. Blair's home, Silver Spring, had
been damaged and this loss caused him
to make un-
usually caustic remarks about General
Halleck and Stan-
ton, both of whom he disliked anyway.
They had ap-
pealed to the President who gave them
no satisfaction
at the time,94 but Blair's
resignation could not but be
pleasing to these two gentlemen. Similarly
the friends
of Chase felt better after Blair, the
arch-enemy, had
followed the way of their favorite.95
Undoubtedly the lowest ebb of Lincoln's
popularity
was reached on September first. The
Democrats were
assailing him on one hand, and on the
other, members of
his own party were plotting secretly
and in public for
his removal. Just as all hope seemed
gone, the news of
Sherman's capture of Atlanta came. It
was such a re-
lief that the President ordered a day
of national thanks-
giving for the victory. Soon after this
came the word
from Sheridan that he had driven the
Confederate forces
out of the Valley and beyond
Winchester. It was
enough to make the threat of the
Democrats sound
empty; it was a promise of ultimate
victory.
Nothing succeeds like success, and the
radicals began
to lose confidence in their plan to
replace Lincoln. On
September 20, Chase having doubted for
some days the
possibility of success for the radical
movement, wrote
to John A. Stevens, Jr., indicating
that he would support
the regular Republican ticket and
urging Stevens to do
93 Walter Buell, "Zachary
Chandler" in Magazine of Western History
IV. (1886) 437. See also Cincinnati Commercial,
September 13.
94 Nicolay and Hay, A. Lincoln, IX,
338.
95 See letter of E. G. Cooke to Chase,
July 11, 1864. Chase MSS.
828 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
likewise.96 Many of Chase's friends
began advising that
he take the stump for Lincoln while the
issue was yet in
doubt.97 This he now
determined to do and wrote to
Parsons telling him of that decision.98
The next day,
September 15, the President summoned
Chase to the
White House and received him cordially.99
A few days
later Chase made another call there
after which he wrote
to one of his daughters that he would
support the Presi-
dent although he was not yet entirely
satisfied with his
attitude.100 Thus, by late
September, Chase had en-
tered into the Lincoln campaign feeling
that there had
been no way to avoid so doing.101
Chase's example was followed by other
radicals.
Trumbull, still in close touch with his
constituents,
learned that it was time for him to add
his voice to the
growing chorus.102 Ben Wade,
always audacious,
stumped for the Union cause and its
candidates and
then in the same speech reiterated the
sentiment of the
Manifesto.103 Henry Winter
Davis made speeches for
his party in which he never mentioned
the name of Lin-
coln, though it must have taxed his
ingenuity to avoid
so doing.
96 N. Y. Sun, June 30, 1889.
Letter dated September 20, 1864. On
September 13, Chase had written in his
diary that he held no further hope
for the success of the radical movement.
97 Chase MSS. Reid to Chase, August 24.
[Pa. Hist. Soc.] See also
Welles MSS. Unpublished articles.
98 Chase MSS. Chase to Parsons,
September 14. [Pa. Hist. Soc.]
99 N. Y. Time's, September
23. National Intelligencer, September 26,
1864.
100 Chase MSS. Chase to
Nettie Chase, September 18. [Pa. Hist. Soc.]
101 Cincinnati Gazette,
September 21; N. Y. Times, September 22; Cin-
cinnati Commercial, September 26.
102 Trumbull MSS. Chas. S. Bartles to
Trumbull, August 251; G. T.
Allen to Trumbull, October 4.
103 N. Y. Times, September
23; National Intelligencer, September 26.
Chase and the Election of 1860 829
The press likewise became orthodox and
supported
the Union ticket, many like the
Champaign Union and
Gazette, dwelling long on the refrain, "Lincoln is honest
at heart" and "let well
enough alone."104 Even Thurlow
Weed was now satisfied and could write
that success for
the party was a certainty.105
With the support of the radicals and
the success of
Sherman and Sheridan favoring them, the
Unionists
made very substantial gains in the
early fall elections
held in a few states. These minor
victories accurately
foretold the major success in November,
when Abraham
Lincoln was once again elected to the
Presidency of the
United States for a term which he was
destined never
to complete.
For a second time Salmon P. Chase saw
his hope of
the presidency fade away like a mirage
over desert
sands. But there were lesser public
posts in which an
able, dignified, and handsome man could
display his
talents well. Most important of these
was the seat lately
vacated by Chief Justice Taney. After
Taney's death
on October 12, the tone of Chase's
correspondence con-
cerning the Administration had grown
more friendly106
and the supporters of the former
Secretary became very
active, doing all they could to remind
the President that
Chase was a worthy man with many
friends who de-
104 Issue of October 14.
105 Bigelow, Retrospections, II,
222. Printed letter from Weed to
Bigelow, October 19.
106 Cullom, Fifty Years, 95.
Chase wanted the position very badly and
urged his friends to do all they could
for him. Even after he felt sure
that he would be appointed he urged them
to continue their efforts just the
same so that there might be no error.
Letters to Parsons, November 19,
22, 27. [Pa. Hist. Soc.] Sherman MSS.
Chase to Sherman, November
12, 1864.
830 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
sired to see him in legal robes.
Sumner, Garfield and
Sherman led the attack and so
marshalled their forces
that there was no withstanding their
onslaught.107 Of
course there were other candidates for
such a desirable
post, Bates and Blair among them108
but Chase outdis-
tanced them all and on December 6, was
securely en-
sconced in the highest judicial
position in the nation.
It is said that bluff Ben Wade, once an
enemy of
Chase, never a doting admirer, but a
constant opponent
of the measures of President Lincoln,
remarked as he
saw Chase formally inducted into
office, "Lord, now let-
test Thou Thy servant depart in peace,
for mine eyes
have seen Thy salvation";109 and
the new judge no doubt
found surcease for his regret and
disappointment in that
bit of pseudo-Shakespearean philosophy
he so frequently
quoted, "Be satisfied with skim
milk when you can't get
cream."
So Lincoln's political troubles ended
and so was
Salmon P. Chase taken out of the realm
of open partici-
pation in Civil War politics into a new
field in which
he was destined to serve with greater
distinction.
107 Cincinnati Commercial, November
9; Chase MSS. Wm. A. Law-
rence to Chase, October 25; G. V. Dorsey
to Chase, October 26, enclosing
the petition of the Republican Central
Committee of Ohio to the President;
Grinnell to Chase, November 2, saying
that he will get 35,000 votes for
the administration on condition Mr.
Chase is made Chief Justice. Grimes
and other Iowans were also indorsing
Chase; Jay to Chase, November 23,
enclosing a copy of a Memorial of New
York Business Men to President
Lincoln.
108
Bates diary, November 2i2; Cincinnati Gazette,
November 23;
Nicolay and Hay, Lincoln, IX,
342.
109 Noah Brooks, Washington in
Lincoln's Tiwe', 195.
Chase and the Election of 1860
831
I
BIBLIOGRAPHY
I. MANUSCRIPT SOURCES.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Chase MISS.
One hundred and eight volumes, two
series, of letters to and
from Chase. Those volumes covering the
correspondence of the
years 1856 to 1865 were used most extensively. There
are, in
addition to the above, four volumes of letter-books but
they are
incomplete. Besides a "Commonplace
Book" and a volume of
family memoranda there is a diary,
practically complete for the
years 1861-1863.
Giddings--Julian MSS.
Two folio boxes of letters and papers on
the war and politics
of the war period. With but a few minor
exceptions these let-
ters are all available in the
biographies of Julian or Giddings or
in their reminiscences.
Lincoln MSS.
Consulted for the war period. Most of
the letters used can
be found in printed works and when
possible citations are made
to the printed material.
Schuckers MSS.
Two folio boxes of letters, memoranda,
notes, clippings and
miscellaneous papers, most of which
refer to Chase.
John Sherman MSS.
Letters to and from John Sherman not
found in the printed
Sherman Letters. Volumes 68 to 71 were used most extensively.
Stanton MSS.
That portion of Edwin M. Stanton's
correspondence called
"Civil War Correspondence" was
used. These are private and
semi-official letters relating to the
war but they do not constitute
the official correspondence of the
Secretary of War.
Trumbull MSS.
A collection of seventy-seven volumes of
which those con-
taining letters of the years 1858 to
1865 were used. There are
fewest letters for the year 1863, just
when the most might be ex-
pected. It might be concluded that the
correspondence for those
years has been destroyed.
832 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Israel Washburn MSS.
The correspondence of the war governor
of Maine and later
letters written while port collector at
Portland.
Elihu B. Washburne, MSS.
A collection of eighty-seven volumes of
which those letters
included in the group called
"Letters to Members of Congress"
and "Letters to Cabinet
Officers" were found most valuable.
Welles MSS.
Of this immense collection those volumes
containing corre-
spondence for the years 1860-1864 were
used as well as six
volumes of scrap books entitled
"Historical Notes" and volumes
marked III and IV consisting of articles
and notes for publica-
tion, some of which never appeared. The
diary was also con-
sulted for corroboration.
PENNSYLVANIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY LIBRARY
Chase MSS.
This collection, almost as large and
fully as valuable as that
in the Library of Congress, was donated,
with the exception of
a few pieces, by Britton Coxe in 1892, four years before the
purchase of the collection at
Washington. The letters are scat-
tered over the years 1824 to 1878 and
are filed alphabetically by
sender. In addition there are a number
of memorandum book-
lets, diary notes and above all the
exceedingly valuable letter-
press books of the Civil War period
containing copies of the
letters Chase wrote or sent during the
war period. In this col-
lection there are numerous papers
prepared by Schuckers during
the time he was writing his biography of
Chase.
Cooke MSS.
Letters of both Jay and Henry Cooke.
Those written or re-
ceived during the war period were used.
PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW YORK CITY
Greeley MSS.
A collection of letters to Greeley with
a few from his pen
that were found in the collections of
other men now deposited
in the Library. Those dealing with the
Convention of 1860
were most revealing.
Bryant MSS.
This huge collection contains several
folders of political cor-
respondence of the war period.
Chase and the Election of 1860 833
Chase MSS.
A few letters written by Chase to other
men whose papers
are now deposited in the Library.
NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY AT ALBANY
Dix MSS.
Letters and papers for the years
1860-1864.
Greeley MSS.
A few letters written by Greeley.
Seymour MSS.
Correspondence and state papers for the
war period.
HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY
Chase MSS.
Composed entirely of letters written by
Chase to his friend
William G. Hosea, of Cincinnati.
Sumner MSS.
Letters received by Sumner with a few
from his pen. Those
dealing with the war period are cited.
MSS. PRIVATELY OWNED
Bates Diary.
A volume entitled "Notes and
Diary" Beginning October 15,
1863 and continuing with frequent
though usually short entries
until July 31, 1866. For the use of
this diary the writer is in-
debted to the kindness of Miss Helen G.
Nicolay.
II. NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS.
INDIANA
Indianapolis Gazette, 1862-1864.
Indianapolis Journal, 1860-1861;
1863-1864.
ILLINOIS
Cairo Democrat, 1863-1864.
Staats Zeitung, 1860. (Chicago)
Chicago Times, 1861-1863.
Chicago Tribune, 1860 164.
Danville Journal, 1863-1864.
Rock River Democrat, 1863.
(Rockford)
Vol. XXXIX--53.
834 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
KENTUCKY
Louisville Journal, December,
1863-1864.
MARYLAND
Baltimore American, 1861;
1863-1864.
MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Advertiser, 1862-1864.
Boston Courier, 1863-1864.
Boston Transcript, 1860,
1863-1864.
Springfield Republican, war
period.
MISSOURI
Missouri Democrat, 1863-1864. (St. Louis)
St. Louis Republican, 1862-1864.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Manchester Mirror and Republican, 1863--1864.
NEW JERSEY
State Gazette and Republican, 1863-1864. (Trenton)
NEW YORK
Christian Advocate, (weekly) 1863-1864. (New York City)
New York Herald, war period.
1ew York Independent, 1864.
Journal of Commerce, (daily ed.) 1863-1864.
New York Post, 1863-1864.
New York Times, war period.
New York Tribune, both daily and
weekly for the war period.
New York World, 1863.
Brooklyn Independent, 1863-1864.
OHIO
Cincinnati Commercial, 1860-1864.
Cincinnati Enquirer, 1860-1861.
Cincinnati Gazette, 1862-1863.
Cleveland Herald, 1863-1864.
Cleveland Plain Dealer, 1862-1864.
Columbus Express. (weekly)
Crisis, (weekly) entire edition.
Ohio Statesman, 1858-1861. (Columbus)
Ohio State Journal, 1861-1864. (Columbus)
Toledo Blade, 1863-1864.
Chase and the Election of 1860 835
PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia Inquirer, 1863.
Philadelphia Ledger, 1862-1864.
Philadelphia Press, 1862-1864.
Pittsburgh Gazette, 1863-1864.
RHODE ISLAND
Providence Journal, 1863-1864.
WASHINGTON, D. C.
Constitutional Union, 1864.
National Intelligencer, entire period.
Washington National Republican, 1862-1863.
Continental Monthly, January 1862 to December 1864.
VALUABLE BOOKS ON NEWSPAPERS AND
NEWSPAPER GUIDES
Davis, Elmer,
History of The New York Times, 1851-1921. New York.
1921.
Griswold, Ada T. (compiler),
Annotated Catalogue of Newspaper
Files in the Library of
the State Historical Society of
Wisconsin. Madison, 1911.
Maverick, Augustus,
Henry J. Raymond and the New York Press
for Thirty
Years. Hartford, 1870.
O'Brien, Frank M.,
The Story of the Sun, 1833-1918. New York, 1918.
Scott, Franklin W.,
Newspapers and Periodicals of
Illinois, 1814-1879. Spring-
field, 1910.
Slanson, Alan (compiler),
A Checklist of American Newspapers in
the Library of Con-
gress. Washington, D. C., 1901.
PAMPHLETS
Address to the War Democrats of Ohio.
Columbus, 1863.
836 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Ashley, James M.,
Address at the Memorial Hall, Toledo,
Ohio, June 2, 1890.
Reminiscences of the Great Rebellion,
Calhoun and Seward. To-
ledo, 1890.
Ashley, James M.,
Souvenir From the Afro-American
League of Tennessee to
Honorable James M. Ashley of Ohio. I864.
Bigelow, John,
Lest We Forget: Gladstone, Morley and
the Confederate
Loan of 1863: a Rectification. New York, 1905.
Chase, Salmon P.,
Going Home to Vote. . . . Washington,
1863.
Chase, Salmon P.,
Speech Delivered at the Republican
Mass Meeting in Cin-
cinnati, August 21, 1855. Columbus,
1855.
Chase, Salmon P.,
How the South Rejected the Compromise
in The Peace Con-
ference of 1861.
Speech of Mr. Chase, of Ohio, published From
the Notes of a Member. 1861.
Cincinnati Convention, October 18, 1864, for the Organiza-
tion of a Peace Party Upon States
Rights, Jeffersonian Demo-
cratic Principles, and for the
Promotion of Peace and Independent
Nomination for the President and
Vice-president. 1864.
Lester, Charles E.,
The Light and Dark of the Rebellion, Philadelphia, 1863.
Report of the Anniversary Celebration
of the Great Uprising of
the People Held in Madison Square,
New York, April 20, 1863.
New York, 1863.
PUBLIC DOCUMENTS
Congressional Globe, 36 to 38 Congress inclusive. John C.
Rives, editor. Printed in Washington.
Journal of the Senate of the State of
Ohio. LIX (1863)-LX
(1864).
Journal of the House of
Representatives of the State of Ohio.
LIX (1863)-LX (1864).
The Statutes at Large, Treaties and
Proclamations of the
United States of America, XII and
XIII, Dec. 5, 1859-Mar. 3,
1864.
Chase and the Election of 1860 837
The War of The Rebellion: A
Compilation of the Official
Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Washington,
1890-1900.
A Compendium of the War of Rebellion
Compiled and Ar-
ranged From Official Records of the Federal and
Confederate
Armies, Report of the Adjutant Generals of the Several
States
the Army Register and Reliable
Documents and Resources. Des
Moines, 1908.
DIARIES, MEMOIRS, AND PERSONAL
RECOLLECTIONS
Blaine, James G.,
Twenty Years of Congress: From
Lincoln to Garfield, With
a Review of Events Which led to the Political
Revolution of 1860.
2 vols. Norwich, Conn., 1884.
Bigelow, John,
Retrospections of an Active Life. 5 vols. New York, 1909-1913.
Boutwell, George S.,
Reminiscences of Sixty Years in
Public Affairs. New York,
1902.
Brooks, Noah,
Statesmen. New York, 1893.
Butler, Benjamin F.,
Autobiography and Personal
Reminiscences of Benjamin F.
Butler. Boston, 1892.
Private and Official Correspondence
of Benjamin F. Butler.
5 vols. Privately printed. 1917.
Carr, Clark E.,
My Day and Generation. Chicago, 1908.
Chase, Salmon P.,
"The Diary and Correspondence of
Salmon Portland Chase"
in the Annual Report of the American
Historical Association,
1902, vol 2.
Chittenden, Lucius E.,
Recollections of President Lincoln
and His Administration.
New York, 1891.
Clay, Cassius M.,
Life of Cassius M. Clay. 2 vols. Cincinnati, 1886.
838 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Conway, Moncure D.,
Addresses and Reprints, 1850-1907;
Published and Unpub-
lished Work Representing the Literary
and Philosophical Life of
the Author. New York, 1909.
Cullom, Shelby M.,
Fifty Years of Public Service;
Personal Recollections of
Shelby M. Cullom, Senior Senator from Illinois.
Chicago,, 1911.
Cutler, Julia P.,
Life and Times of Ephraim Cutler,
Prepared from his Jour-
nals and Correspondence . . . Cincinnati, 1890.
[The diary of
William P. Cutler is included in the
above work.]
Field, Maunsell B.,
Memories of Many Men and Some Women;
Being Personal
Recollections of Emperors, Kings,
Queens, Presidents, States-
men, Authors, and Artists; at Home
and Abroad During the Last
Thirty Years. New York, 1874.
Fiske, Stephen,
"When Lincoln was First
Inaugurated," in the Ladies' Home
Journal, XIV (March, 1897).
Foote, Henry S.,
Casket of Reminiscences. Washington, 1874.
Foraker, Joseph B.,
Notes of a Busy Life. 2 vols. Cincinnati, 1916.
Forbes, James M.,
Letters and Recollections. 2 vols. Boston, 1899.
Gillmore, James R.,
Personal Recollections of
Abraham Lincoln and the Civil
War. Boston, 1898.
Goss, Warren L.,
Recollections of a Private. New York, 1890.
Hay, John,
Letters and Extracts from his Diary.
Printed but not pub-
lished.
Julian, George W.,
The Life of Joshua R. Giddings.. Chicago, 1892.
Chase and the Election of 1860 839
Lamon, Ward H.,
Recollections of Abraham Lincoln. Chicago, 1895.
Lincoln, Abraham,
Writings, (ed. by Arthur B. Lapsley) New York, 1906.
Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln . .
. edited by John
G. Nicolay and John Hay. 2 vols. New York,
1907.
Lowell, James R.
Letters. 2 vols. New York, 1904. Charles E. Norton,
editor.
"The President's Policy," in North
American Review, Jan-
uary, 1864.
Lusk, W. T.,
War Letters . . . New York, 1911.
McClure, Alexander K.,
Abraham Lincoln and Men of War Time:
Some Personal
Recollections of War and Politics
During Lincoln's Administra-
tion. Philadelphia, 1892.
Old Time Notes on Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, 1905.
Recollections of Half a Century. Salem, 1902.
McCulloch, Hugh,
Men and Measures of Half a Century. New York, 1888.
Piatt, Donn,
Memories of the Men Who Saved the
Union. New York,
1887.
Riddle, Albert G.,
The Life of Benjamin F. Wade. Cleveland, O., 1886.
Recollections of War Time:
Reminiscences of Men and
Events in Washington 1860-1865. New
York, 1895.
Schofield, John M.,
Forty-six Years in the Army. New York, 1897.
Scovel, James M.,
"Sidelights on Lincoln," in
the Overland Monthly, XXXVIII,
second series, September, 1901.
"Recollections of Lincoln and
Seward" succeeding issue of
the above publication.
Sherman, John and Sherman, W. T.
The Sherman Letters: Correspondence
Between General and
Senator Sherman from 1837-1891. New
York, 1894.
840 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Stanton, Henry B.,
Random Recollections. New York, 1887.
Tilden, Samuel J.,
Letters and Literary Memorials of
Samuel J. Tilden. Edited
by John Bigelow. New York, 1908.
Weed, Thurlow,
Autobiography and Memoir of Thurlow
Weed. 2 vols. Vol.
I edited by Harriet A. Weed, 1883 and
Vol. II edited by Thurlow
Weed Barnes in 1884. Boston and New
York, resp.
Welles, Gideon,
Diary of Gideon Welles, Secretary of
the Navy Under Lin-
coln and Johnson. 3 vols. New York, 1911.
The following articles appear in the Galaxy:
"Lincoln and Johnson," XIII
(April and May, 1872).
"History of Emancipation," XIV
(December, 1872).
"Lincoln and Seward," XVI
(October to December, 1873).
"Nomination and Election of Abraham
Lincoln," XXII
(September and October, 1876).
"Administration of Abraham
Lincoln," XXIII (January and
February, 1877); XXIV (October to
December, 1877).
Winchell, James M.,
"Three Interviews With
Lincoln," in the Galaxy, XVI
(July, 1873).
Anonymous,
"The Diary of a Public Man,"
in the North American Re-
view, CXXIX (1879).
OTHER SECONDARY WORKS
Adams, Charles F.,
Richard Henry Dana: A Biography. 2 vols. New York,
1890.
Austin, George L.,
The Life and Times of Wendell
Phillips. Boston, 1884.
Bancroft, Frederick,
The Life of William H. Seward. 2 vols. New
York, 1900.
Benton, Josiah H.,
Voting in the Field: A Forgotten
Chapter of the Civil War.
Privately printed, 1915.
Chase and the Election of 1860 841
Brooks, Noah,
Abraham Lincoln and the Downfall of
American Slavery.
New York, 1894.
Buell, Walter,
"Zachariah Chandler," in the Magazine
of Western History,
IV, 1886.
Campbell, James H.,
McClellan, A Vindication of the
Military Career of George
B. McClellan. New York, 1906.
Clarke, Grace J. G.,
George W. Julian. Indianapolis, 1923.
Cole, Arthur C.,
"Lincoln and the Presidential
Election of 1864" in Trans-
actions of the Illinois Historical
Society for the Year 1917.
The Era of the Civil War in Illinois,
Springfield, 1919.
"Illinois Radical Republicans,
1858-1861," the Mississippi
Valley Historical Review, IV, March, 1918.
Cortissoz, Royal,
The Life of Whitelaw Reid. 2 vols. New York,
1921.
Dewey, Davis R.,
Financial History of the United
States. New York, 1922.
Dodd, William E.,
Lincoln or Lee. Comparison and
Contrast of the Two
Greatest Leaders in the War Between
the States. The Narrow
and Accidental Margin of Success. New York, 1928.
Fessenden, F. E.
Life and Public Services of William
Pitt Fessenden. 2 vols.
Boston, 1907.
Foraker, Joseph B.,
"Salmon P. Chase" in Ohio
Archaeological and Historical
Society Publications, XV.
Foulke, William D.,
Life of Oliver P. Morton, Including
His Most Important
Speeches. 2
vols. Indianapolis, 1899.
William Lloyd Garrison, The Story of
His Life as Told by
His Children. 4 vols. New York, 1899.
842 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Going, Charles B.,
David Wilmot--Free Soiler: A
Biography of the Great Ad-
vocate of the Wilmot Proviso. New York, 1924.
Gresham, Matilda,
Life of Walter Quinton Gresham,
1132-1895. 2 vols. Chi-
cago, 1919.
Grimke, Archibald H.,
William Lloyd Garrison, The
Abolitionist. New York, 1891,
Hart, Albert B.,
Salmon Portland Chase. New York, 1899.
Long, Byron R.,
"Joshua Reed Giddings" in Ohio
Archaeological and His-
torical Society Publications. XXVIII, 1919.
Merriam, George S.,
The Life and Times of Samuel Bowles. New York, 1885.
Moore, Charles,
"A Sketch of the Life of Sullivan
M. Cutcheon, With Par-
ticular Reference to Michigan Political
History During the War
of the Rebellion" in Michigan
Pioneer and Historical Collections.
XXX.
Nicolay, John G. and John Hay,
Abraham Lincoln: A History. 10 vols. New
York, 1890.
Oberholtzer, Ellis P.,
Jay Cooke: Financier of the Civil
War. 2 vols. Philadel-
phia, 1907.
Pearson, Henry G.,
The Life of John A. Andrew, Governor
of Massachusetts,
1861-1865. 2 vols. Boston, 1902.
Perry, Thomas S.,
Life and Letters of Francis Lieber. Boston, 1882.
Raymond, Henry J.,
Lincoln, His Life and Times. Being
the Life and Public
Services . . . of the i6th President
of the United States Together
With His Speeches, Addresses,
Messages, Letters and Proclama-
tions, and the Closing Scenes
Connected With His Death. New
York, 1891.
Chase and the Election of 1860 843
Rice, Allan T.,
Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln by
Distinguished Men of
His Time. London, 1886.
Ryan, Daniel J.,
"Lincoln and Ohio," in Ohio
Archaeological and Historical
Society Quarterly, XXXII, Jan. 1923.
Schlesinger, Arthur M.,
"Salmon Portland Chase:
Undergraduate and Pedagogue,"
in Ohio Archaeological and
Historical Society Publications,
XXVIII, I9I9.
Schuckers, John W.,
The Life and Public Services of
Salmon Portland Chase,
United States Senator and Governor
of Ohio, Secretary of the
Treasury and Chief Justice of the
United States. New York,
1874.
Sears, Lorenzo,
Wendell Phillips, Orator and
Agitator. New York, 1909.
Seitz, Don C.,
Horace Greeley, Founder of the New
York Tribune. In-
dianapolis, 1926.
Shotwell, Walter G.,
Life of Charles Sumner. New York, 1910.
Smith, Donnal V.,
"Influence of the Foreign Born in
the Election of 186o," Un-
published thesis of the University of
Chicago, 1927.
Smith, Joseph P.,
History of the Republican Party in
Ohio and Memoirs of
its Representative Supporters. 2 vols. Chicago, I898.
Smith, Theodore C.,
The Life and Letters of James Abram
Garfield, New York,
1925.
Stearns, Frederick P.,
The Life and Public Services of
George Luther Stearns.
Philadelphia, 1907.
Steiner, Bernard C.,
The Life of Henry Winter Davis. Baltimore, 1916.
844 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications Storey, Moorfield, Charles Sumner. New York, 1900. Thayer, William R., Life and Letters of John Hay. New York, 19I5. Waggoner, Clark, editor, History of the City of Toledo and Lucas County, Ohio. To- ledo, 1888. Warden, Robert B., An Account of the Private Life and Public Services of Sal- mon Portland Chase. Cincinnati, 1874. Weeden, William B., War Government, Federal and State in Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and Indiana. 1861-1865. New York, 1906. Yager, Elizabeth F., "The Presidential Campaign of 1864 in Ohio" in Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society Quarterly, XXXIV, 1925 [THE END] |
|
CHASE AND THE ELECTION OF 1860
BY DONNAL V. SMITH
(Continued from July QUARTERLY)
CHAPTER IV
THE CHASE BOOM
On New Year's Day, 1864, the New York World
lamented that the dawn of the last year
of the "most
mournfully memorable" presidential
term in the annals
of the Nation should still find the
country "rent asun-
der by civil convulsions." It gave
no hint of support
for the President and his Cabinet; they
would have to
be enlightened by the unmistakable
voice of the people
before any progress could be expected,
was the opinion
of the editor. Half a million people
read this condem-
nation. The World was tired of
war,1 and the Tribune
and Herald were no less
dissatisfied;2 when not openly
criticizing the Chief Executive, they
were at least un-
friendly. The Baltimore American found
much at the
White House that it did not like, but
much to praise in
the Treasury Department. The Chicago Times
be-
wailed the misfortune of a President
who was a mere
clerk;3 while in southern
Illinois, the Cairo Democrat
found Lincoln always late; far too slow
for the people.4
The Cincinnati Commercial announced
the beginning
1 Issues for January 1, 4, 6 7, 18, and
25, 1864.
2 January 15, 23, 29.
3 December 11, 1863.
4 January 3, 1864.
Vol. XXXIX--49. (769)